Good morning, Mr. Chair and members of the committee.
My name is Anthony Durocher. I’m the deputy commissioner in the competition promotion branch. Joining me today is my colleague Brad Callaghan, associate deputy commissioner in the policy, planning and advocacy directorate.
I would like to begin by recognizing the importance of your study. We believe it has been invaluable to shaping and advancing the public discourse around food affordability, and the testimony at this committee has benefited the Competition Bureau in our efforts to protect and promote competition in the grocery sector.
The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency that protects and promotes competition for the benefit of Canadian consumers and businesses.
We do this because competition drives lower prices and innovation, while fuelling economic growth. We administer and enforce the Competition Act by investigating and taking action to address anti-competitive business practices that harm consumers, competition and our economy.
In June 2023, the bureau released its retail grocery market study report. Our report found that grocery prices have been increasing at their fastest rate in more than 40 years and since late 2021 have been significantly outpacing the general rate of inflation in the Canadian economy. Additionally, the retail grocery industry has become much more concentrated over time. Today most Canadians purchase their groceries from only a few grocery giants that operate most grocery store banners, including the top discount chains.
Our report makes a number of principle-based recommendations to federal, provincial and territorial governments to improve competition in the grocery industry. They include stimulating innovation and supporting the growth of independent grocers, as well as the entry of international grocers through government policies and programs; limiting—and potentially banning—property controls; and lastly, introducing accessible and harmonized unit pricing requirements.
We continue to be actively engaged with policy-makers on our report's findings and its recommendations.
We recognize that food price inflation remains a significant issue for Canadians and that we need to approach our work in the grocery industry with heightened vigilance and scrutiny to ensure that Canadians benefit from greater choice and more affordable groceries. This includes by thoroughly and quickly investigating allegations of wrongdoing. To that end, we are actively pursuing an enforcement investigation in the grocery sector relating to the use of property controls.
Recent amendments to the Competition Act, particularly through Bill C-56, have given the bureau more tools to protect and promote competition in Canada and mark a key step in modernizing Canada's competition law. The bureau is committed to using the new tools made available through these amendments wherever necessary to protect competition. Further, as you know, Bill C-59 contains several other amendments that will, if passed, further strengthen Canada's Competition Act.
Before fielding your questions, I would note that the law requires the bureau to conduct investigations in private and to keep confidential the information it has. This obligation may prevent us from discussing past or current investigations.
I would like to thank the committee very much for the invitation to appear today, and we look forward to your questions.