Canada’s grocery markets are among the most competitive in the world, Empire Company Limited President and CEO Michael Medline told attendees at a Retail Council of Canada event earlier this month.

Empire is the parent company of Sobey’s and other chains, and is one of three of the five major retail chains in Canada that supports the introduction of a proposed Grocery Code of Conduct. Medline told the audience of retailers April 2 that he would not support the code if he thought it would raise retail prices, but also that “this is one of the most competitive grocery retailer markets on earth. At the height of inflation, Canadians were shopping at seven different food stores for their needs every month. Does that not sound like a competitive market?”

The number of stores can exceed the number of ownership groups involved, because most major grocery firms own multiple retailers that serve different segments of the market.

Medline said a code could still be completed with industry-based consensus, but also that finalization of one had taken too long. Loblaw and Walmart remain holdouts, arguing in part that adoption of the one proposed would lead to higher prices for consumers.

“I think everyone’s caught in a bit of a stalemate right now trying to figure out how to put pressure on the parties that won’t sign,” he said. “I think it’s a bit of a game of chicken here.”

The code was designed to create a more balanced marketplace for suppliers and smaller retailers by eliminating some of the practices used by larger retailers to negotiate more favourable deals. The impasse has led to naked threats from legislators that the code could be made into legislation, if not voluntarily adopted.

He referenced some of the grocery industry sales practices, including fees introduced by Loblaw and Walmart on suppliers in 2020, as part of a culture shock he experienced moving into the grocery sector from his previous position at Canadian Tire.

He said food prices could also be stabilized through other measures, such as policies that encourage manufacturers to stay in Canada to reduce reliance on imports, a stronger dollar and food rescue programs for needy consumers.

“If we can work together instead of throwing darts at each other, we can help Canadians, get the cost of food down and have an even better, safer and more secure food supply chain,” he said.

He also asked the Competition Bureau to wrap up its bread price-fixing investigation, as it was “misguided from the start” and also “drags on, and the cloud over our head remains.” He said Empire did not participate in fixing the price of bread, which the Competition Bureau case indicates went on for 16 years and involved Canada’s largest baking wholesalers and grocery retailers.