Karen Proud, chief executive officer for Fertilizer Canada, has been chosen arbiter for the new grocery-industry code of practice.
Her experience in agriculture, retail and government relations were cited as the reasons she was picked.
There is much work to be done to make the new code effective, including interpretations of the rules laid out in legislation. Loblaws and WalMart fought against the code, but after lobbying and pressure, they agreed to join.
There are many suppliers and small-volume retailers who have yet to sign on.
The code was developed by federal, provincial and territorial ministers of agriculture after the big supermarket chains dictated costly changes to suppliers, such as forcing them to discount invoices.
Perhaps, when all the interpretations are in place, the devil will reign over the details.
