Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says he’s ‘disappointed’ in the lack of transparency Canadian grocery store giants have offered so far when it comes to tackling food inflation. He’s sending a letter to Canada’s Commissioner of Competition to express his dissatisfaction.
Basically, “go away before I taunt you a second time”
It is so obvious it is price gouging from big chains. Same product at a dollar store a block away from SuperStore is half price. Dollar Store consistent price throughout COVID, Superstore creeping up 25¢ each week, until the point of “I can’t justify buying this here” . And now SuperStore has electronic tags they change the price randomly up and down, as much as +$2 on a $4 item for a few days. There is no way to budget food basics with this nonsense. Luckily we have Fruiticana out west, where produce is typically half price of SuperStore pricing.
I agree, the small local grocers / regional chains used to be consistently more expensive than going to Superstore or Walmart. They have raised prices, but somehow not as much as the big guys. They still can’t compete on some of the big volume staples like milk, eggs, pasta, and bread, but is it really worth saving a buck on a couple items just to pay more for everything else? In a way it’s almost a good thing though, it’s never been an easier decision to support local.