How an escalating battle between grocers and suppliers could see shelves laid bare for years

In an emailed statement, Retail Council of Canada spokesperson Michelle Waslylyshen said the premise that retailers are the “bad guys” is inaccurate.

“Both sides negotiate to provide Canadians with the products they want at a fair price,” she said, adding that many suppliers are large multinationals with significant profits and margins.

“From a retailer perspective, Canadian grocers are seeing significant cost increase requests, many much higher than the cost of inflation,” she said.

These requests are affected by factors including oil prices, flooding, supply chain disruptions and the war in Ukraine, she said, adding that the council is at the table working with industry players on a pending code of conduct “to come to a workable solution with an emphasis on reciprocity, fairness and simplicity for all.”

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