Opening Statement to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food
June 2, 2026
Ottawa, Ontario
Good morning, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. Thank you for inviting us to appear today.
My name is Jeanne Pratt and I am the Interim Commissioner of the Competition Bureau. I am joined by my colleagues Anthony Durocher, Acting Senior Deputy Commissioner responsible for the Mergers and Monopolistic Practices Branch, and Mike Hollingworth, Acting Deputy Commissioner of the Competition Promotion Branch.
The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency tasked with protecting and promoting competition in Canada. We administer and enforce the Competition Act, a law that applies across all sectors of the economy.
Our work includes investigating abuses of market power, reviewing mergers that may lessen competition, addressing price‑fixing and other cartel behaviour, and tackling deceptive marketing practices. We also advocate for government policies and regulations that support competitive markets.
Your study addresses issues that matter deeply to Canadians. It comes at a crucial time when Canadian households are feeling the pressure of rising food prices across the country.
Competition is an important factor in food security and affordability. Stronger competition leads to lower prices, more choice, and greater opportunity for Canadians. It supports productivity, encourages investment, and helps ease cost‑of‑living pressures. But we also recognize that competition is one of many factors impacting food affordability.
We have been prioritizing issues of affordability in our work, particularly as it relates to food. In 2023 we published the findings of our market study into the retail grocery sector . The study focused on barriers that are limiting competition, reducing choice and increasing prices for Canadians.
Our study found that Canada's grocery industry is concentrated, with most Canadians buying their groceries in stores owned by five grocery giants: Loblaws, Sobeys, Metro, Costco and Walmart. It also highlighted barriers to competition, such as property controls blocking the opening of new stores; and areas of innovation in the industry, such as online grocers and delivery services.
These findings remain relevant today. We continue to engage with governments across Canada to encourage the implementation of the recommendations we made in our report. For example, Manitoba most recently adopted legislation to prohibit property controls in the grocery sector.
Moving now to our enforcement work, grocery, and the broader food supply chain, are a significant priority focus here.
For example, we are investigating the use of property controls by the companies that own Loblaw and Sobeys. Since we started, Loblaw has taken steps towards eliminating their use of property controls, and we are monitoring this commitment.
Our investigation into the use of property controls in the Canadian grocery industry is ongoing. And, to help businesses comply with the law, we published guidance on property controls in 2025, setting clear guardrails on the use of arrangements between landlords and grocers that can limit entry from other retailers who sell food.
We also recently secured a binding agreement with Parrish & Heimbecker, to address concerns arising from its proposed acquisition of GrainsConnect Canada Operations. Parrish & Heimbecker has agreed to sell GrainsConnect's grain elevator business in the area around Reford, Saskatchewan to address our concerns This will help ensure that farmers in the region continue to benefit from competition when selling wheat and other grains.
We know our work is far from done. As a priority, we will continue to focus on potential competition issues across the food supply chain moving forward. Before we proceed to your questions, I would note that the Competition Act requires us to conduct our investigations in private and to keep confidential the information we obtain. This means there may be limits on what we can say about specific matters, including whether certain investigations exist.
Thank you again for the opportunity to appear. We look forward to your questions.
