Agri-food committee unveils recommendations to tackle food inflation

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food releases its report on food inflation.

The report, entitled “Grocery Affordability: Examining Rising Food Costs in Canada,” is based on testimony from 58 witnesses the committee heard over nine meetings held between 21 November, 2022, and 17 April, 2023. These included representatives from civil society groups as well as stakeholders from primary production, food and beverage processing, and food retail.

The report contains 13 recommendations to the federal government on how it can tackle factors driving food price inflation, including strengthening data collection on price formation throughout the supply chain and addressing financial challenges faced by farmers and food processors.

It also recommends actions to address challenges related to relations and competition in the food supply chain, notably the implementation of a mandatory and enforceable code of conduct for the sector and strengthening the Competition Bureau’s powers.

The committee recommends the government investigate the impact of eliminating “best-before” dates to tackle food waste as well as ensure feasible alternatives to plastics for food packaging.

To mitigate the effects of inflation, the committee proposes providing short-term, low-cost credit and maintaining increased threshold for interest-free payments.

It also seeks to reduce timelines, paperwork, and costs associated with the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to address the staffing crisis in the agri-food sector.

For the full report, click here.