NDP says Ottawa's new grocery task force isn't living up to government promises

The federal government says the task force it created to monitor and investigate grocery retailers' practices has not conducted any probes and doesn't have a mandate to take enforcement action.

The acknowledgement was made earlier this month in response to written questions by the NDP.

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said last fall the government would establish a grocery task force within the Office of Consumer Affairs. He described it as a dedicated team that would monitor grocers' work to stabilize food prices, and investigate and uncover practices like shrinkflation.

The April federal budget reiterated the message that the task force is monitoring the grocers’ work on price stabilization, “as well as investigating other price inflation practices in the grocery sector.”