SoVote

Mark Gerretsen

Member of Parliament
Member of the Board of Internal Economy Deputy House leader of the government
Liberal

Kingston and the Islands
Ontario
Voting Attendance: 67%
Expenses Last Quarter: $112,228.33

Government Page

Jun/3/24 8:56:36 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, in my opinion, I do not think that the vast majority of the profits are being made lower down on the supply chain. I think that what we are seeing, which is indicative of a market that has only a few players in it, is that it is the few players that are going to jack up their prices, because they can. If, farther down the supply chain there is a supplier of something, or there are 10 suppliers of something, because there are so many of them, they are going to be incentivized to ensure that they are being competitive. It is not the same scenario when there are only a few grocery retailers, which is what we have.

122 words

Context: House Hansard - 323 - Jun/3/24

Mr. Mark Gerretsen (Kingston and the Islands, Lib.)

Jun/3/24 8:04:01 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, as it relates to grocery prices and the anti-competitive nature of what is going on in Canada, I specifically look to the largest grocery retailers we have here. There are only about three of them. The largest one, Loblaw, and its affiliate stores, control about 42% of the retail grocery market in Canada. Loblaw controls 42%. In comparison, the largest grocery retailer in the United States controls about 11%. If we have so few companies that have so much of the control and power, I think it is just in the natural competitive nature to see those prices increase. Effectively, we have an oligopoly. Can the House leader of the NDP provide his insight into the best ways to try to discourage that? I realize this has an excess profit tax. I have an issue with that. I am more than willing to talk about it and listen to ideas because I have spoken in favour of the concept before. How do we prevent that tax from just being passed on to the consumer? If we are dealing with an oligopoly that only has three or four main competitors, and it has a tax imposed upon it, it would be really easy just to pass that tax along. I am not against it, but I am curious what the member's thoughts are on how we would deal with that.

233 words

Context: House Hansard - 312 - May/9/24

Mr. Mark Gerretsen (Kingston and the Islands, Lib.)

May/9/24 11:49:01 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I have a brief question. I find the last intervention about grocery prices to be very fascinating because the reality is that in Canada, 42% of the retail grocery sector is controlled by Loblaw, whereas the largest sector in the United States is Walmart, with 11%. However, the Conservatives will never be heard talking about the massive profits that are being made by oil giants or by the grocery retailers. I am wondering what the member's comments on that would be.

84 words

Context: House Hansard - 254 - Nov/23/23

Mr. Mark Gerretsen

Nov/23/23 4:38:27 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I cannot guarantee anything. I do not think anybody can guarantee anything realistically. What I can say is that we look at where the problem is. We know the problem is in food inflation. We know that food prices have inflated much faster than the average. We know there is a small oligopoly in Canada in the major retailers of food. That is why the minister responsible brought those CEOs to Ottawa to talk about what can be done. That is why this bill would empower the Competition Bureau to do more by putting more teeth into its ability to deal with the problems of anti-competitiveness. Again, this is one measure that I think goes to the heart of competition and to ensuring competition because we recognize that, when there is healthy competition, people get the best value for their dollar, which they are not getting right now specifically as it relates to the retail grocery industry.

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Member of the Board of Internal Economy Deputy House leader of the government

Mark Gerretsen