The Canada Grocery Code, developed to promote transparency and fairness in the sector, took full effect on New Year’s Day.
Its dispute resolution management process took effect on Jan. 1 — the final component of the framework to roll out.
The code has been in the works since 2021, sparked by friction between grocery companies and their suppliers, which was exacerbated by challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Provisions in industry-developed code include guidelines around fair and ethical dealing; commercial agreements and would should be contained in them; rules around payments and charges between retailers and suppliers; and dispute resolution.
The Office of the Grocery Sector Code of Conduct oversees the application of the code. On Nov. 28, the office announced it had finalized its governance framework and would formally begin recruiting companies to sign on to the voluntary code.
More than 100 grocers and suppliers had signed on as of Nov. 28. These include Canada’s major grocers like Loblaw, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart and Costco, which joined after significant negotiation.
