This article supplied by Troy Media.

By Sylvain Charlebois

A new bill shielding dairy, poultry and eggs from trade negotiations sends the wrong message to global partners and punishes Canadian consumers

Last week, the House of Commons unanimously approved Bill C-202, a law that would prohibit Canada from making any trade concessions
involving its supply-managed sectors, including dairy, poultry and eggs.

The bill now moves to the Senate for final approval. With unanimous support, the House is reinforcing a decades-old protectionist system just as Canada faces mounting pressure to modernize its economy and re-establish credibility as a global trading partner.

Introduced initially as Bill C-282 by the Bloc Québécois in the last Parliament, Bill C-202 grants blanket immunity to supply-managed sectors, most notably dairy, regardless of the negotiating partner or economic context. With its approval in the House, Parliament has already sent a clear signal: this system is off-limits, no matter the cost.

Canada’s approach to supply management and trade keeps circling back to the same policy mistakes—protecting an outdated system whose relevance is increasingly hard to justify.

Supply management, a system that controls domestic production through quotas, guarantees prices for farmers and restricts imports with high tariffs, especially in dairy, poultry and eggs, was introduced decades ago to stabilize farm incomes and ensure domestic supply. But today, it’s more about shielding entrenched interests than serving consumers or the broader economy.

During the federal election campaign, Prime Minister Mark Carney stated in a Radio-Canada interview that no legislation was necessary to protect the dairy industry. It appears he has since changed his mind, or someone changed it for him.

While the prime minister’s shift signals executive backing, not everyone is convinced. The Senate may still push back, as some senators have raised
concerns about the bill’s long-term economic consequences. But the political momentum is unmistakable: protectionism is once again being presented as national interest.

In Ottawa, few MPs from any party challenge one of the most powerful lobby groups in the country: the Dairy Farmers of Canada. Their influence is
formidable, both federally and provincially. Despite this outsized influence, it’s worth asking: what exactly are we protecting?

Canada has the highest industrial milk prices in the G7. A litre of milk in Canada can cost up to twice as much as it does in the U.S.—an added burden for families already struggling with inflation and rising grocery bills.

These elevated prices don’t drive innovation or reinvestment. Many producers are content to maintain the status quo, insulated from competition. The result? Consumers pay more while the industry resists efficiency and change.

Defenders of supply management often point to food safety. It’s true that bovine growth hormones are banned here. That’s commendable.

But other practices deserve more scrutiny. A 2022 study published in Trends in Food Science and Technology found that palm oil derivatives are permitted in feed for Canadian dairy cows. This may help explain the firmer, less spreadable butter observed at room temperature—a phenomenon dubbed “Buttergate,” which was initially dismissed by dairy farmers despite growing evidence.

More recently, a peer-reviewed study co-authored by researchers at McGill and Dalhousie universities estimated that Canada discards between 600 million and one billion litres of milk annually. The dairy lobby rejected the findings but has yet to present alternative data.

The reality is simple: cows don’t stop producing milk when demand dips, so waste is inevitable.

Rather than engage critics or offer transparency, the dairy sector leans on silence and self-congratulation. Reform is taboo. This unwillingness to confront hard truths at home has international consequences.

Looking ahead, Canada will need to renegotiate trade deals with the United States, Mexico and other partners.

Trade negotiations with countries like the U.S., our largest trading partner, require flexibility and credibility. Shielding entire sectors from negotiation signals that we are unwilling to deal in good faith.

Two choices await: we either pay billions in compensation to dairy farmers every time we offer concessions, a practice that borders on economic racketeering, or we forfeit our standing as a credible trade partner.

What message does this send to the world at a time when Canada urgently needs to diversify its economy?

By clinging to a politically convenient system, our elected officials are rewarding complacency and institutionalizing inefficiency, all under the guise of defending national interests.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Canadian professor and researcher in food distribution and policy. He is senior director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University and co-host of The Food Professor Podcast. He is frequently cited in the media for his insights on food prices, agricultural trends, and the global food supply chain.

Troy Media empowers Canadian community news outlets by providing independent, insightful analysis and commentary. Our mission is to support local media in helping Canadians stay informed and engaged by delivering reliable content that strengthens community connections and deepens understanding across the country.

This article supplied by Troy Media.

By Sylvain Charlebois

Canada’s bread price-fixing scandal is one of the most damaging breaches of corporate trust in the history of Canadian food retail. The recent approval
of a $500-million class-action settlement by an Ontario court is a significant—though partial—step toward accountability. But the story isn’t over.

For over a decade, grocery giants secretly rigged the price of the country’s most basic food item, and most Canadians had no idea.

From 2001 to 2015, retailers and suppliers deliberately coordinated to raise the price of packaged bread, a basic household staple. This kind of illegal arrangement, known as price-fixing, occurs when supposed competitors agree to set prices rather than compete, driving up costs for consumers. Companies named in the lawsuit include Loblaw, its parent company George Weston Ltd., Metro, Sobeys, Walmart and Giant Tiger.

The impact on consumers was steep. Estimates suggest Canadians were overcharged by more than $5 billion over 14 years. The added cost was hidden in weekly grocery bills, largely unnoticed, but cumulatively devastating, especially for lower-income households that spend a greater share of their income on food.

The Competition Bureau, Canada’s competition watchdog, launched its investigation in 2015 after Loblaw came forward as a whistleblower under its Immunity and Leniency Program. In exchange for cooperating, Loblaw and George Weston were granted immunity from criminal prosecution. Their disclosure triggered years of scrutiny. In 2017, the companies attempted to contain the public backlash by offering $25 gift cards to 3.8 million Canadians, a gesture that cost $96 million and was widely seen as inadequate.

More recently, in 2023, Canada Bread pleaded guilty and paid a record $50-million fine for its role in the scheme. Although the violations occurred while it was owned by Maple Leaf Foods, it was Grupo Bimbo—which acquired Canada Bread in 2014—that took responsibility and cooperated with regulators. It was a rare show of accountability in a case otherwise marked by corporate silence.

Despite multiple companies being implicated, only Loblaw, George Weston and Canada Bread have admitted wrongdoing. No fines or sanctions have been imposed on the others. Walmart, Metro, Sobeys and Giant Tiger—all named by Loblaw—deny the allegations. Yet the investigation drags on nearly a decade later.

This imbalance in accountability has deepened public frustration. Many Canadians believe only those who stepped forward have faced consequences,
while others remain untouched. Or perhaps Loblaw threw its competitors under the bus in a calculated effort to save its own reputation?

The $500-million settlement—$404 million of it from Loblaw and George Weston —was approved by an Ontario judge earlier this month as “fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of class members.” The other $96 million reflects the earlier gift card program. What’s left to be paid amounts to about $13 per Canadian adult. After legal fees and administrative costs, 78 per cent of that will go to eligible Canadians outside Quebec, with the remaining 22 per cent reserved for Quebecers, pending a June 16 court hearing.

But for many, the money and the apologies do little to restore trust. If companies can quietly collude on something as essential as bread, it raises questions about what else might be going unnoticed in our grocery bills. The scandal exposed major weaknesses in Canada’s food retail system: toothless competition laws, limited pricing transparency and weak deterrents against collusion. These investigations take too long, and the damage to public confidence lingers long after the cheques are cashed.

Bread is not just a commodity. It symbolizes nourishment, affordability and stability. Manipulating its price isn’t just a legal violation; it’s a betrayal of public trust.

If this case is to be a turning point, it must lead to more than payouts. Canada needs stronger enforcement, faster investigations and real transparency in pricing. Without systemic reform, Canadians will remain vulnerable to the next coordinated “market adjustment,” hiding in plain sight on store shelves.

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Canadian professor and researcher in food distribution and policy. He is senior director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University and co-host of The Food Professor Podcast. He is frequently cited in the media for his insights on food prices, agricultural trends, and the global food supply chain.

Troy Media empowers Canadian community news outlets by providing independent, insightful analysis and commentary. Our mission is to support local media in helping Canadians stay informed and engaged by delivering reliable content that strengthens community connections and deepens understanding across the country