After grocery prices rose 6.9 per cent from a year ago in August, the government called on the top five grocery chains to present a plan to stabilize prices by Thanksgiving and the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry says the industry wants to be part of the solution. Francois-Philippe Champagne says he met recently with more than the five big grocers in Canada.

He announced Thursday that each grocer has identified a series of actions which include aggressive discounts for key food products, price freezes and price-matching campaigns. Champagne also announced that a Grocery Task Force will be established to monitor the grocers’ commitments and the actions of other key players including manufacturers. He promised to engage with the food industry and accelerate the work to establish a Grocery Code of Conduct and to improve the availability of data on food prices and the cost breakdowns in the Canadian agri-food supply chain. This includes working with both domestic and foreign stakeholders.

Champagne says, “I will continue to keep a close eye on Canada’s largest grocery chains, the food processors and other industry actors to make sure that the price of food in Canada will be stabilized.”

The Food Professor Sylvain Charlebois says to buy items for this Thanksgiving compared to a year ago you will be paying 18 per cent more for turkey, 13 per cent more for potatoes, sweet potatoes are up 40 per cent and the cost of squash is now increased a whopping 63 per cent. But if you like cranberries, that has dropped by four per cent however pumpkin to put in a pumpkin pie is up 12 per cent.