#food-prices

The Competition Bureau of Canada has secured court orders compelling major grocery retailers, including Loblaw and Sobeys, to produce documents for an investigation into their use of property controls. The probe examines how restrictive covenants in lease agreements may be used to stifle competition by preventing rival grocers from opening nearby. This action, following the companies' alleged failure to cooperate fully, marks a significant escalation in the Bureau's efforts to address concerns about market concentration and its impact on food prices and consumer choice in Canada's highly consolidated grocery sector.

The Competition Bureau of Canada has launched a formal investigation into the country's largest grocery chains—Loblaw, Sobeys, and Metro—over their use of anti-competitive property controls. The probe focuses on "restrictive covenants" in lease and property agreements that prevent rival grocers from opening stores in certain locations, sometimes for decades. Citing concerns that these practices limit consumer choice and contribute to high food prices, the Bureau is seeking court orders to compel the companies to produce relevant records. This action marks a significant escalation in the government's efforts to address competition in the sector.

Canada's Competition Bureau is escalating its investigation into the country's largest grocery chains, including Loblaw, Sobeys, and Metro, over their use of restrictive property controls. The probe focuses on clauses in lease agreements that may unlawfully prevent rival supermarkets from opening in the same commercial developments, thereby stifling competition. By seeking court orders to compel the release of corporate records, the Bureau aims to determine if these long-standing practices harm consumers by limiting choice and contributing to higher food prices in an already concentrated market.

Canada's Competition Bureau is escalating its investigation into the country's major grocery retailers—Loblaw, Sobeys, and Metro—over allegations of anti-competitive practices. The probe focuses on the use of 'property controls,' restrictive covenants in lease agreements that may be used to block rival supermarkets from opening nearby, thereby limiting consumer choice and stifling competition. Amid persistent food price inflation, the Bureau has sought court orders to compel the companies to produce records, signaling a more aggressive phase in its effort to ensure a fair and competitive marketplace for Canadian consumers.