Agriculture Committee on Feb. 27th, 2024

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Your proposed reforms to the Competition Bureau are interesting. However, its representatives appeared twice now before the committee to tell us that they lacked tools and statistics. They needed more data. What are you going to do about that? Will you insist that Statistics Canada collect the data and provide it to the Competition Bureau?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

That’s a possibility, but we also gave the Competition Bureau new powers through Bill C‑56. It now has the power to demand information. That’s why the first study was incomplete. People could say “thanks, but no thanks” when they were asked for information. Today, the bureau is better equipped. Furthermore, we’ve invested $90 million to make sure that the bureau has the means to uphold the Competition Act, which will change things.

[The Chair, Liberal, Kody Blois]

Thank you very much, Minister, and Mr. Lehoux.

Finally, I give the floor to Mr. Louis for two and a half minutes.

[Tim Louis, Liberal, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister, for being here for our study on stabilizing food prices.

In our work on this committee and in your work as minister, we're all looking out for families and the costs they face in putting food on their tables. We're also looking out for the farmers who are growing the food, because they can't set the prices they're selling at.

We've learned there's no one thing that's causing these grocery prices to be where they are, and there's no single solution to make this a better situation.

I appreciate the work you've been doing and the message you brought today. We talked about reforming competition, strengthening the Competition Act and summoning the grocery CEOs. We've had them here before our committee—you've sat down with them as well—when we were pushing for that grocery code of conduct.

I wanted to give you this final minute or so to speak directly to Canadians about the measures we're taking and how they're about fairness and addressing families' needs, looking out for those families and putting groceries on the table, as well as looking out for the farmers who are feeding us.

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

I appreciate that.

The key message is that we have your back. Canadians have seen that during the pandemic. Is that easy? No. Are the questions that were asked complex? Yes. Is it worth the fight? Definitely.

We know that grocery prices are one of the main concerns for Canadians on a weekly basis. We have taken more action, I would say, in the last six months than any government has. Sometimes when I hear the opposition questioning what I've done in six months, it's probably more than what has been done in 10 or 20 years in terms of reforming competition, making sure that we have a strong consumer affairs office, strengthening the enforcement tools of the Competition Bureau, calling on the CEOs to take action, and making sure that we have federal, provincial, and territorial colleagues all working in the same direction. It's almost unprecedented in our nation's history to see so much being done to tackle one specific issue for Canadians.

I would also say to my colleagues in the opposition that we are all here to serve Canadians. This is not a partisan issue. Food pricing is not a partisan issue. Competition is not a partisan issue. Offering more tools to consumers is not a partisan issue. I would really hope that what Canadians take out of this meeting, Mr. Chair, is that everyone recommits to work for them.

Families are faced with high food prices across the country. There's no magic solution. It's not like I could flip a switch that would immediately provide relief; however, it's trending in the right direction.

Do we need to do more? Definitely, and I appeal to the best judgment of all my colleagues in the House. to pass to Bill C-59, for example, and give more power to the Competition Bureau. I hope that Canadians will see that all of us who have been sent to Ottawa are fighting for them every single day. That's what they expect from us.

We want to be fair. We want to be constructive. We want more choice, more competition and better prices for Canadians. That's what I commit to do. That's what I will continue to do with your support, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Kody Blois]

Thank you, Mr. Louis, and thank you, Minister Champagne.

Colleagues, on your behalf, I'll thank the minister for his appearance and for his work on behalf of all Canadians.

Minister, the one thing that I will say personally after your testimony is that I think it's extremely important that there be a grocery code of conduct if the voluntary process can't work itself out. I can appreciate that you might not be in a position today to say when that would happen, but our committee would like to see that code of conduct as soon as possible. I know you'll take that under consideration, alongside your provincial and territorial colleagues, and we thank you for being here today.

Colleagues, in terms of some reminders, the recommendations on this study are due tomorrow. Minister Champagne was our last element of the study, so please submit your recommendations to the analysts by tomorrow.

On Thursday, we will be studying Bill C-355.

The meeting is adjourned.