Ideas CRACKING THE CODE

from Canadian Grocer February 2023

Product Innovation: A Key Ingredient for Success

there is still work to be done, but it’s likely the Canadian grocery industry will have a code of conduct in place this year.

The latest report from the steering committee working on the code confirms that most of the key provisions are complete, and progress is being made on how the code will be enforced.

That report was met with a joint statement from Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau, and Quebec Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food André Lamontagne, commending the industry on the progress it had made.

“By enhancing transparency, predictability and fair dealing, the code will help make Canada’s food supply chain more resilient,” the statement read, with “transparency, predictability and fair dealing” being the key watchwords for the process since the ministers called for an industry code in 2021.

“I’m really, really pleased with the progress we’ve made,” says Gary Sands, senior vice-president, public policy and advocacy, for the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers. “Now all we’re doing is putting the final touches on it.”

While much of the work to draft the code had been led by a 10-person committee meeting monthly since mid 2021, progress to clear away the final hurdles came with the formation of an eight-person working group in August. Members of that group unilaterally understood the importance of having a code developed by the industry rather than one imposed by the government, Sands says.

Final touches to the code relate to governance and enforcement, but progress is being made there, too, says Michael Graydon, CEO of Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada.

Wider consultations—likely to begin in February—will introduce the proposals to as many stakeholders as possible. Once the consultations are complete, the language vetted by lawyers and the final version of the code signed off, they can begin to put the formal structures in place. There will be a board of directors from representatives across the industry and an adjudicator supported by a small team (likely six staff members), which will listen to complaints and enforce the code.—David Brown

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