Grocers called back to Parliament as consumers look for other ways to save

As Canadians struggle with the high cost of living, Canada's big grocery CEOs are being called back to Ottawa.

A Parliamentary motion passed last Thursday, giving grocers a deadline of two weeks to explain what is being done to stabilize food prices.

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"That long-term solution is to have more competition. It's really that simple," Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said on Oct. 5.

After the last meeting, Champagne announced few details about those plans, other than saying it includes discounts, price freezes and price-matching campaigns.

But since then, most chains have not confirmed the details of their plans and not much has changed for shoppers, either.

"You're seeing more signs telling people things are changing, but when you actually look at prices specifically, there is nothing out of the ordinary," said Sylvain Charlebois, food analytics lab director at Dalhousie University.

CTV News reached out to Loblaw, Metro, Empire, Walmart and Costco for more details. Metro replied saying it has no comment and Walmart said it has already taken several initiatives to lower prices, including pricing on their own brand. The others did not get back before deadline.

"I'm not expecting any major changes, at least before the holidays," Charlebois said.

In the meantime, shoppers like Jessie Fang are cutting back in other areas to afford the essentials.

"Each month the credit card bills go up and up. We had to cut off the spending," Fang said.

Others are turning to internet sensations like Dianne Debarros and her husband, who are taking the coupon world by storm, teaching people their savvy ways to save a dollar.

"A lot of people are reaching out looking for ways to save because they're not getting solutions from anyone else and they need to save right now," Debarros said.

Through their Instagram account coupon.couple, Debarros is showing people how to coupon, where to find the best deals, and how to save where they can. Debarros says it saves her family of four $9,000 a year.

 

 

 

 

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Grocers have until Nov. 2 to submit their plans. As that changes consumers could see, Charlebois says that all depends on the economy and on whether interest rates remain steady.