In response to your question, I have two comments.
One is about net margins. Yes, net margins are very low in Canada compared with other sectors. But if you compare the net margins of Empire, Sobeys, Loblaws, and Metro, the net margins are actually, on average, double of what they are in the U.S. if you look at Albertsons and Kroger there. So, yes, it's a competitive market in Canada, but it's been comfortable for them too.
Most of them are integrated businesses; they do carry products with higher margins like cosmetics, and pharmacies and things like that. But it's been comfortable for the main players here in Canada, I do want to say.
Secondly, our most important recommendation, we believe, for Bill C-352 is our first one, which is very much about data. This is probably the most frustrating thing that I've experienced as a scholar working with businesses, that we fly in the dark in Canada. I think that the Competition Bureau has a role to play to democratize data as much as possible so that the public would know some of these things about margins and and some of these things about competition in Canada.
Also, it would help businesses that are looking at that space too. The lab that we have at Dalhousie is all about democratizing data, but we can't do everything ourselves, and that's why we wanted to recommend this specific thing. Even though it may not be in the scope of Bill C-352, we still believe that democratized data should be a priority for the bureau.