Bill C-56 does give us the power to conduct inquiries and obtain orders for the production of documents going forward.
The co-operation we received from the major grocery retailers for our market study varied greatly depending on the retailer. On the whole, the level of co-operation wasn't sufficient. It was important for us to examine the industry's financial data and gross margins in order to isolate food profits, given that the grocers sell many non-food products as well.
After analyzing food gross margins for the five-year period between 2017 and 2022, we are confident, on the basis of the information we received, that the food gross margins of the grocery giants increased by a modest yet meaningful amount. We noted that profits increased by one to two percentage points, which is modest given that profits are very much volume-driven in the grocery industry. However, this increase can make a big difference to Canadians.