So where has it been for the last decade?
Take eggs as an example.
It has known that there is a court decision that accused Burnbrae Farms Ltd. of limiting competition in connection with the account for Giant Tiger stores.
It has known that Burnbrae and L.H. Gray and Son Ltd. cut a deal to divide the business of Metzger Produce near Elmira.
It has known that Burnbrae and Gray, the dominant egg-grading and egg-processing companies in Ontario, exchanged e-mails about pricing and sharing clients, such as territories of Loblaw-owned stores.
It did nothing.
I am told that it made a deal to sit back and watch while lawyer Donald Good pursued a lawsuit against Burnbrae, Gray and the Egg Farmers of Ontario marketing board.
Good failed to seek documents from Burnbrae to match what he had from L.H. Gray and Son Ltd. which prompted Burnbrae to persuade a judge to remove it from the lawsuit.
So the Competition Bureau has apparently done nothing on its own to delve into the Canadian egg-grading and egg-processing sector.
It did gain a settlement with Loblaw over bread pricing, but what about the Empire Group (including Sobey’s and FreshCo and Foodland) and Metro (including Food Basics)?
Any meaningful solutions are just too complex and legally and politically fraught for politicians and bureaucrats to resolve.
So, grit your teeth, mutter your curses, and pay whatever the price is for the food you buy because the Competition Bureau isn't going to help you.
