Thank you to all the witnesses for being here today.
I think, no matter what part of the country you come from, Canadians are wondering, in the context of this legislation, why the heck do I have to pay so much for groceries?
I looked in great detail during the first hour of our meeting today at the Competition Bureau report entitled “Canada Needs More Grocery Competition”. Two key points were sort of addressed that I almost find right now are going to be hard to achieve, and may even be contradictory.
The report outlines, in addition to some other studies conducted by the Competition Bureau, that when the largest firms in an industry consolidate their position, their market share, they are less likely to be replaced or face significant challenges to their market share. The report also notes that we need to encourage growth in the entry of new competitors.
In the context of grocery stores, though, what I essentially read this morning was that the Competition Bureau outlines that it's going to be hard to see competition in our grocery story sector in Canada.
Would that be a fair assumption, Mr. Boswell?