- What The Competition Bureau is seeking information about property controls in the grocery industry
- Why The bureau is probing whether property controls are harming competition
- What next The inquiry is part of the bureau’s ongoing investigations into Sobeys and Loblaw
The Competition Bureau is asking participants in the grocery industry to offer feedback about the use of property controls in the sector.
Property controls allow a grocery retailer to limit the type of business that can move into a location after the grocer leaves the property. The restrictions may also limit what products competitors can sell.
The regulator is seeking input from retailers, landowners and landlords on how the controls may have helped or hurt their business. The inquiry is part of the ongoing investigations, which began in February, into Sobeys and Loblaw for alleged anti-competitive conduct.
In June, the bureau obtained court orders requiring the parent companies of Sobeys and Loblaw to turn over information related to their use of property controls in the Halifax region.
