As members of Parliament gear up to grill the CEOs of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 largest grocery store chains, experts say elected officials should push for more transparency on why grocers are making so much money.

The CEOs and presidents of Loblaw Cos. Ltd., Metro Inc. and Empire Co. Ltd. B次元官网网址� which operates chains including Sobeys, Safeway and FreshCo B次元官网网址� are set to testify before the House of Commons agriculture committee on Wednesday as part of its study on food inflation.

Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, said the upcoming meeting B次元官网网址渋s very much about political theatre.B次元官网网址�

Other executives from the companies have already testified in front of MPs, but New Democrats in particular signalled their dissatisfaction with the absence of the CEOs themselves.

B次元官网网址淭hose at the heads of these companies, where the buck stops, should at least have to answer questions around why their profits are so high and why their prices are so high,B次元官网网址� NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said last month.

The proposal to hear from the industry leaders came from the partyB次元官网网址檚 agriculture critic, Alistair MacGregor, and it received unanimous support from Liberal, Conservative and Bloc Qu茅b茅cois MPs on the committee.

With the grocers making record profits amid high inflation, Charlebois said MPs have an opportunity to push for more financial information that could shed light on whatB次元官网网址檚 been driving profits.

A report co-authored by Charlebois in the fall found the three grocers all posted higher profits in the first half of 2022 compared with their average performances over the last five years.

Loblaw was particularly notable, the report found, as it had outperformed not only its five-year average performance but also that of each of those years individually.

The grocery chainB次元官网网址檚 gross profit in the first half of 2022 beat its previous best results by $180 million B次元官网网址� equivalent to about an extra million dollars a day, the research found.

And while Loblaw has said its profits have been driven by non-food items such as its pharmacy products, its financial statements donB次元官网网址檛 break down the margins for different categories of goods.

B次元官网网址淚 think itB次元官网网址檇 be worthwhile for the committee to dig deeper into that data for all three companies,B次元官网网址� Charlebois said.

But the committee wonB次元官网网址檛 be able to compel the companies to release more information about their financial results, leaving the decision of what to disclose up to grocers.

David Macdonald, a senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, said the grocers may indeed be making their profits off of non-food products. But B次元官网网址渨e have no way to evaluate that because we canB次元官网网址檛 see any of that segmented information,B次元官网网址� he said.

And even if profits are being driven by lipstick or soap sales, Macdonald said that shouldnB次元官网网址檛 necessarily insulate the companies from scrutiny.

Corporate profits shot up significantly in 2021 and 2022, coinciding with the global rise in inflation and fuelling accusations of B次元官网网址済reedflation.B次元官网网址� That across-the-board trend deserves more attention, Macdonald said.

Still, despite the fact that grocers see generally lower margins, steep food inflation has received particular attention. Grocery prices were up 11.4 per cent in January from the year before.

In October, the Competition Bureau announced it is undertaking a study that will specifically look at whether competition in the grocery sector is playing a role in the higher prices.

Macdonald said MPs could ask the grocery CEOs whether they will commit to providing full access to their financial records to the Competition Bureau as it embarks on its study.

Without such commitments, the bureauB次元官网网址檚 powers are B次元官网网址渧ery limited,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭hey canB次元官网网址檛 compel any additional information.B次元官网网址�

A final report is expected in June, complete with recommendations for the federal government. It could prove B次元官网网址渃onsequential,B次元官网网址� Charlebois said, adding that the bureau could seek changes to the law that would give it more power to address competition in the industry.

B次元官网网址淚 actually think that grocers fear some major changes to the Competition Act,B次元官网网址� he said

Charlebois said itB次元官网网址檚 difficult to do well in the food distribution business in Canada, and interprovincial trade barriers are a major challenge. Such obstacles can reduce competition, he said, noting that grocery margins in the U.S. are lower than those in Canada.

B次元官网网址淚f thereB次元官网网址檚 something that committee should be focusing on, itB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址� how do we increase the competition in Canada in order to help consumers?B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址擭ojoud Al Mallees, The Canadian Press