Efforts to craft a Canadian grocery code of conduct have reached a major milestone with a proposed final version that includes a process to resolve disputes and impose sanctions on systemic violators of the code.
However, language in a copy of the proposed code obtained by The Canadian Press appears to stop short of imposing fines on companies that fail to adhere to its principles.
Still, Michael Graydon, co-chair of the steering committee overseeing the code, says the voluntary code has a number of potential deterrence measures to encourage compliance, such as potentially publicizing ``consistent bad behaviour.''
Graydon, CEO of supplier industry group Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada, says the proposed code has teeth, though they may not be as sharp as some had hoped for.
He says the grocery code is fundamentally about ``good business practices,'' removing irritants from the grocery supply chain and creating more balance in the supplier-retailer relationship.
The industry committee working on the grocery code was established in response to contentious fees being charged to suppliers by large grocery retailers.