NDP calls for inquiry into grocery store profits as food prices continue to rise

The federal NDP is calling for a parliamentary inquiry into rising food costs to determine if big grocery chains are making excess profits.

While Canada’s inflation problem appears to be easing, the cost of groceries has risen 10.8% over the past year, according to Statistics Canada.

NDP agriculture critic Alistair MacGregor said he plans to table a motion before Wednesday’s agriculture committee proposing that MPs investigate whether grocery stores have profited from inflation .

“I think Canadians deserve answers and…at this time when they are seeing the prices of everything go up, they unfortunately have a Liberal government that has not paid much attention to the role that corporate greed is playing in the increase in prices they’re seeing, » MacGregor told CBC.

Canada’s three major grocery chains all posted higher profits in their most recent financial reports. Loblaw reported quarterly profit of $387 million, an increase of $12 million, or 3.2%, from the same quarter last year.

Metro posted quarterly profit of $275 million, compared to $252.4 million in the same quarter a year earlier. And Empire reported a profit of $178.5 million in its latest quarter, compared to $6.6 million in the same quarter a year earlier.

Loblaw’s brands include Shoppers Drug Mart, Superstore and No Frills. Metro owns Food Basics, Jean Coutu, Metro and other brands, while Empire owns Sobeys and FreshCo.

Whereas Loblaw and Subway attributed their increased profits to an increase in pharmaceutical sales, MacGregor said it was still worth looking into.

“I know Canadians are trying to do everything they can to balance their budgets, but they also deserve parliamentarians to look at this issue and find solutions,” he said.

Partha Mohanram, a University of Toronto professor and expert in financial statement analysis, said there was little evidence to suggest that big grocers are using inflation as a pretext to boost their profits.

« It’s incredibly difficult to make a claim that these guys are profiting, but there’s no doubt that they’re doing pretty well, » he said.

A recent report from Dalhousie University examined the profits of Canada’s major grocers over the past five years and found no evidence of profit from the recent spike in inflation.

« If ‘greed’ exists, the available data suggests that grocers are not responsible, » the report said.

« If people are accusing grocers of scams and profiteering, we don’t know where they’re getting their data from, » said Sylvain Charlebois, one of the report’s authors.

But Charlebois, who is also director of Dalhousie University’s Agrifood Analysis Laboratory, said a study of the rising cost of food is always worth doing, as long as it doesn’t just focus on the benefits of grocery stores.

The Retail Council of Canada, which represents major grocers, said it did not oppose a committee study, but – like Charlebois – argued it should examine the effect of external pressures – like the war in Ukraine – on food prices.

« It would be beneficial for any observer to examine the issue of rising food prices from scratch, as there are so many world events and pressures at play, » said the council’s spokeswoman, Michelle Wasylyshen, in an email.

A spokesman for Tory MP John Barlow, deputy chair of the agriculture committee, told CBC News that Barlow would not comment on the motion until he saw the text.

CBC contacted Liberal members of the agriculture committee to ask if they would support the study, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.