According to studies, products cost as much as 25 per cent more in Canada, in part due to taxes. In a new legislation presented on Dec. 9 by Industry Minister James Moore, Canada’s Competition Bureau will be given more power in order to investigate why U.S. consumers pay so much less than Canadians.

The purpose of the Price Transparency Act is to even the price playing field between the two countries, and would allow the Bureau’s commissioner of competition to look into price discrimination based on geographic location. The commissioner would also carry the power to force companies to show how they reached a particular price.

“Our government believes that hardworking Canadians and their families shouldn’t be charged higher prices than Americans simply because of where they live. The intentional manipulation of prices on identical goods for sale in Canada and the U.S. places an unfair burden on Canadians and is simply wrong. The Harper Government is standing up for Canadian consumers with legislation to help address price discrimination,” said Minister Moore in a news release.

According to the University of Guelph’s Food Institute, Canadian consumers will be paying as much as 2.4 per cent more for their groceries in 2015.

According to the Food Price Report 2015, meat, seafood and vegetables will all see a price increase of between three and five per cent. The price of fruit and nuts will increase by between one and three per cent, while the cost of grains will either stay the same, or increase by up to two per cent. Dairy and eggs are the only category that may experience a price decline of up to one per cent.

According to the report, factors that may lead to the increase in food prices include weather, input costs, energy costs and the food retail and distribution landscape, among others.  According to the study, the Canadian dollar may also be to blame.

“The depreciating dollar makes purchase of inputs more expensive, so goods with imported inputs will be less competitive. Dollar depreciation on the Canadian food industry will require working with governments to sustain favourable environments for not only affordable food production, but also supporting Canadian consumers to eat local,” stated the study.

Michael Kennedy will be assuming the position of Director of Sales and will be joining CK Nutritional officially on January 5th, 2015.

In his new role, Michael will be responsible for leading the company’s sales efforts in the Canadian natural health products industry. In the past, he has held senior sales and account management positions at Platinum Naturals, Afexa (ColdFX), and Basic Research, and he also has some food and pharmaceutical company experience.

CK Nutritional is a leading provider of innovative science-based raw materials to the Canadian NHP sector, delivering innovation with first-to-market ingredients like NEM® Natural Eggshell Membrane for joint pain relief.

Life Choice has hired several new sales representatives, who will be holding positions across the country.

Theo Pypker is the new agent for the GTA region. He has been in the industry since 1989, working as a representative, health food storeowner, and the owner of Maxion Nutrition. He is currently an independent broker representing several lines.

Greg Young is now the sales representative for the Vancouver/Lower Mainland region. Greg has about 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry after receiving his business degree from the University of Regina, before deciding to move into supplements. In his new role, Greg will be calling on retail health food stores, as well as naturopaths, chiropractors and dentists.

Benoit Lapointe is the company’s new sales representative for the Quebec and Maritimes regions. Benoit has been in the industry for over 20 years as a sales representative, in-store health advisor, retailer, manager and a customer service representative. He uses his creativity in merchandising and marketing in his new role, and will be working with health food stores, naturopaths, homeopaths, osteopaths and other health care practitioners.

Also joining the Life Choice team are Karen Beck in the Thompson to Okanagan region in B.C.; Michael Dancer in Vancouver Island, B.C.; Mark Harwood in Alberta; and Alice Dixon in Southwest Ontario. Congratulations to the whole team!

Ground beef produced by Winnipeg-based meat manufacturer Cargill Meat Solutions have been pulled from the shelves following E.coli concerns. The extra lean ground beef, lean ground beef, and medium ground beef products under the Your Fresh Market brand were available at Walmart stores in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Federal health officials from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency requested these products, which had an expiry date of November 28 or 29, be thrown out or returned to original store where they were purchased.

The products believed to have a risk of containing E.coli were recalled after E.coli 0157 was found in a sample taken from the ground beef ready to be packaged by Cargill Meat Solutions. E.coli can cause diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and nausea.

Loblaw has sold three more Shoppers Drug Mart locations in an effort to meet the Competition Bureau’s requirements to make its $12.4 billion takeover of the pharmacy corporation official. One of the pharmacies was sold to McKesson, while two now belong to Pharmx Rexall Drug Stores. The stores that were sold are located in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.

Loblaw had already sold nine pharmacies to Remedy’s Rx, seven to McKesson and three to Pharmasave Drugs, while selling off four grocery locations to Metro. Loblaw is required to sell one more Shoppers Drug Mart location in order to gain full approval for the acquisition from the Bureau.

After its US$775 million purchase of Kiva Systems in 2012, Amazon worked with the company to develop robots to work in some of its U.S. fulfillment centres in order to help speed up shipments during its busy holiday shopping season. The 15,000 robots will be used in warehouses in California, Texas, Washington, Florida and New Jersey.

This is not the only high-tech helper that Amazon uses. It also employs Robo-Stow, a large robotic arm to move orders, and is using a new inventory system to reduce unloading and processing time for orders.

Amazon has so far not eliminated any human jobs in order to make use of the Kiva robots.

Réal Raymond is the new chair of Metro Inc.’s Board of Directors, succeeding Pierre H. Lessard, in the role. Lessard is stepping down from the position as he has reached the age of mandatory board retirement.

Raymond will officially become chair after the company’s annual general meeting of shareholders, which will take place on January 27, 2015. Raymond joined the board in 2008, after acting as lead director of the company and chair of the human resources committee. Raymond was also formerly the president and CEO of National Bank of Canada.

Metro has also announced that John H. Tory has resigned from his position on the board, which he has held since 2011, after being elected mayor of Toronto.

Walmart Canada has announced plans to expand the Grab & Go locker program across 33 more Greater Toronto Area stores after having started out in 10 stores initially. The service, which provides customers with a pick-up option of the orders they’ve purchased online, uses lockers with a personalized PIN number.

The locations that will start offering the Grab & Go locker service include Walmart stores in Missisauga, Hamilton, Burlington, Brampton, Oshawa and more. Walmart is also offering same-day delivery in Vancouver and Toronto for orders placed before noon.

“Not everyone can order things to their office, and using this pick up option can help provide a level of security that isn’t always available with home delivery,” Alex Robertson, director of corporate affairs, told Canadian Grocer.

Whole Foods Market currently has 10 stores in Canada, located in metro Vancouver, Toronto, and its new Ottawa store that opened in late November. According to CEO Walter Robb, the company wants to open 30 more locations across Canada, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Whole Foods is also expected to announce an upcoming store in Calgary, according to media reports, and may extend to new stores in Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Victoria, according to Retail Insider.