Grocery code of conduct will raise prices, not lower them, Loblaws and Walmart

The head of Canada's biggest grocery chain says the looming implementation of the grocery code of conduct would lead to higher prices for consumers, not lower ones.

The head of Canada's biggest grocery chain says the looming implementation of the grocery code of conduct would lead to higher prices for consumers, not lower ones.

Speaking at a House of Commons agriculture committee meeting on Thursday morning on stabilizing food prices, Galen Weston, executive chairman of the Loblaws group of companies, said his company and the industry at large have been unfairly targeted for food price inflation.

He says Loblaws has been an "active participant in discussions with government" on the topic of food prices, and noted that the company has "meaningfully" reduced its prices on staple items that make up about 10 per cent of its chain-wide sales.

"This is on top of super low everyday pricing and our discount stores where we routinely sell products like bananas, sugar, and milk all below cost," he said. "We know if we do not provide real value, customers will shop elsewhere."

Gebara with Walmart says we want to make sure the code has all of the different provisions and conditions so that we can conduct our business to offer low prices every day for our customers across Canada. "We believe that the code is not in a position for us to commit to signing."