Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, witnesses, for being with us this evening.
Canadian grocers and consumers are under pressure as food prices continue to skyrocket, despite overall inflation easing in recent months. In fact, the rising cost of groceries is being reported as nearly double the rate of inflation.
Throughout this study, I have frequently called out the poor business practices of large grocers for nickel-and-diming our farmers and producers. These practices keep costs high and are driving Canadian family farm businesses out of business.
An economics scholar, Ambarish Chandra of the University of Toronto, agrees, saying:
We’ve seen, frankly, bad behaviour from these grocers over the years, whether it’s price fixing or other sorts of scandalous issues, like co-ordinating on reducing pay for cashiers during the pandemic—all of these things stemmed from the fact that we just don’t have enough competition.
As Canadians know, Costco is not a Canadian company, but it is a far larger company than other Canadian grocers and can be a leader in proper competitive behaviour. I have asked other representatives of other grocery chains the same questions.
I'm looking at you, Mr. Riel. I just have very quick questions for you. Simple yes or no answers would be great.
Sir, do you charge listing fees?