Advocating for Independent Grocers Across Canada

Consolidation within both the retail and supplier sectors has, over the last few years, caused a distortion of fair market practices in the food industry. It was why CFIG was the first industry association in Canada to advocate for a Grocery Code of Conduct. A Code that would establish principles of fairness while also providing guidance to our industry.

CFIG was appointed by Ottawa and the Provinces as one of the members of the Steering Committee that developed Canada’s Grocery Code. As one of the architects of that document, we ensured reciprocity was a key pillar of the Code, to ensure principles of fairness applied to both retailers and suppliers.

For example, the issues of ensuring fair supply and also unilateral price changes without adequate notice, have long been identified by independent grocers as issues. The Grocery Code addresses those areas. While a mechanism exists for taking forward and resolving complaints regarding contraventions of the Code to the Adjudicator, CFIG also provides additional support and guidance to our members.

In fact, contraventions of the Code that have been brought to our attention by CFIG members, have been resolved without the retailer having to access the Dispute Resolution process, by virtue of CFIG, in confidence, bringing the issue to the attention of the supplier. CFIG also has two independent grocers elected as members on the Grocery Code Board of Directors and two independent grocers on the Grocery Code Advisory Working group. Together, we will ensure this Code continues to work for the benefit of our members.

The Government of Canada has unveiled a new multi-billion dollar food strategy for Canada. This strategy contains many elements that CFIG has long advocated for, which was why we were invited to join the Prime Minister at the announcement of this strategy.

Significant funding to expand and enhance the Ontario Food Terminal; the creation of two additional Food Terminals to serve western and eastern Canada, while also establishing regional food hubs across the country. These measures will provide more opportunities for independent grocers to directly access a wider range of products, shorten transportation distances-- particularly in Northern, rural and remote areas of Canada, reduce the impact of wholesaler consolidation and provide more opportunity for Canadian producers to establish long-term relationships with independent grocers.

This strategy is welcomed by CFIG as one that will help provide more support for independent grocers and continue to offer more choice for Canadian consumers. Most importantly, it helps to bolster the ability of independent grocers to compete in a highly consolidated industry.

For the past few years, CFIG has led the fight for more fairness and transparency in the payments industry. Our efforts have resulted in the lowering of overall interchange fees—to an overall average of 1.22% for independent grocers--the establishment of a Payments Code of Conduct and securing the continuation of Interac as a low, flat fee payment model.

That overall fee reduction and the Interac win have saved our members thousands of dollars annually. A tangible example of how your CFIG membership fee is not an expense, but an investment.

Yet we continue to push the Government to keep its commitment made in the Budget of 2021, to reduce interchange fees further, for all small and medium size businesses, to a level “similar” to the lower fees enjoyed by large corporate entities. In 2024 the Government implemented fee reductions for small businesses with VISA sales of $300k and $150k for Mastercard transactions. While other associations welcomed that announcement, CFIG has rejected those reductions as insignificant and meaningless for grocers. Our fight, on your behalf, will continue.

CFIG continues to be front and center in media coverage of the industry issues that matter to you and Canadians the most. From supply chain pressures, tariffs, interchange fees, food affordability and a myriad of other issues---CFIG amplifies the voice of independents.

Most recently, this heightened profile and awareness of the challenges faced by independents, translated into tangible elements included in the Prime Ministers announcement of the new Food Security Strategy that were specifically aimed at supporting independent grocers.

One of the key challenges faced by independent grocers, is the disproportionate impact that regulations can have on your business. That is why when new labelling regulations were introduced in 2007, CFIG won an exemption for all products produce in-store or produced in a single store commissary for sale in that store, from all allergen and nutritional labelling requirements.

This exemption has translated into thousands of dollars in savings year after year.

In today’s world, we are all too accustomed to crises, changes and challenges. But as a CFIG member, you are not alone.

Whether it is a pandemic, wildfires across Canada, flooding in BC and the Martimes, labour disruptions or sudden tax changes/holidays---CFIG is there to advocate on your behalf. As well, we provide important and timely information to ensure you are getting the support you need and answers to the questions our members have raised.

A cornerstone of CFIG advocacy efforts have been aimed at seeing the enactment of a Grocery Code of Conduct while also bringing about changes to Canada’s Competition Act.

Our advocacy was reflected in the 2023 landmark study of the Competition Bureau into the Retail Grocery Industry. That study led to legislative changes we had called for—such as providing the Competition Bureau with the power to investigate restrictive covenants (property controls) which have been barriers to entry for independent grocers in the past.

As well, CFIG targeted the “efficiencies defence”, by which almost all mergers and acquisitions in the food industry have been rubber stamped if companies could claim they would become more efficient from the acquisition. This defence has now been eliminated and mergers and acquisitions must now be reviewed with industry input and a determination if the acquisition is in the best interests of the industry, competition and the public.

Many Canadians have little understanding of how supply management works. And no wonder as the approach to price setting in supply managed sectors has been opaque.

CFIG has been advocating for more transparency so that consumers understand that when prices of products such as dairy and eggs are raised, those increases are almost entirely due to decisions made by the regulatory authorities on behalf of producers—and by processors who often ‘piggy back’ their own cost increase on to the regulated price hike.

The result is retailers become the focus of customer confusion of what and who is behind the rising prices of supply managed products. CFIG’s successful efforts to bring more accountability in these areas, also resulted in a freeze on a cost increase for dairy producers in 2023.

CFIG has completed the undertaking of study of the Economic impact of Independent Grocers in Canada, looking at their place as a lynchpin in ensuring the sustainability of cities, towns and villages across Canada, with a particular focus on that role in many Northern and rural communities.

This study ensures that we can provide facts and data that support our key messages, on your behalf, to governments, our industry partners and through the media, to your customers, on a plethora of issues.

There is no doubt that the issue of temporary foreign workers has become a contentious and divisive political issue. Many Canadians believe that these workers are taking jobs away from Canadians able and ready to work, resulting in politicians federally and provincially reacting to that public sentiment.

But CFIG is part of national Employer Coalition group led by Canada’s Commissioner for Employers, that is providing more actual evidence of the realities and challenges faced by many employers across the country. Particularly for our members in more rural parts of the country.

This has led to the Government easing many restrictions on TFW in those areas and CFIG will continue to advocate for a more balanced and fact-based approach to this critical issue.

When the Ontario government brought forward its Alcohol modernization legislation, which would allow all grocery stores to have the ability to sell beer and wine, it also contained measures we could not support.

The Government imposed a requirement that grocers would have to take back beer and wine empties---a cost burden and food safety risk that meant our Ontario members would opt to not apply for a license to sell beer & wine, while others who held a license from prior to the proposed changes, made it clear they would turn in their license.

CFIG launched an intense campaign to turn aside this requirement, while also advocating for changes in other areas that placed independent grocers at a competitive disadvantage. This battle for fairness was not an easy one, but was ultimately successful.

Grocers are no longer required to take back empties. Our members will also receive the same wholesale pricing as the LCBO, while also having access to other LCBO catalogue products that have not been available in the past. CFIG continues to push for further refinements of the new Alcohol regime in areas such as the requirement for wine kiosks. Cheers to our CFIG members who supported us in this battle and can now offer more choice and convenience in alcohol to their customers.

CFIG supports the need for the elimination of interprovincial trade barriers and overlapping federal and provincial regulations.

We have drawn particular attention to the need to harmonize federal and provincial meat inspection regimes for meat that is crossing provincial borders. Progress is being made on this issue and in addition to supporting our domestic meat producers and processors, will open up more opportunities for independent grocers.