House of Commons Committee Report on Grocery Affordability

The House of Commons Agriculture and Agri-Food Committee has released a report entitled “Grocery Affordability: Examining Rising Food Costs in Canada.” Among the thirteen recommendations in the report, the Committee calls on the Government of Canada to:

Take the necessary steps to collect and make public data on costs throughout the Canadian agri-food supply chain—including disaggregated data on costs in the primary agriculture, food and beverage processing, and food retail sectors— along the same lines as the information the United States Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service makes available in its Food Dollar Series research program.

Provide additional funding to Indigenous-led initiatives in remote and Northern areas to improve infrastructure that supports the food security of their communities.

In cooperation with the provinces and territories, address food waste by investigating how the elimination of “best-before” dates on foods would impact Canadians; and partnering with non-profit organizations and large food retailers to develop programs to divert food that would otherwise be wasted to Canadians experiencing food insecurity.

While the recommendations are not binding on the Government, an official response will have to be delivered this fall.