Grocery Market Transparency Act

⚠ This is a flightplan, not a commitment. Flightplans are hypothetical policy proposals modelled in the Ducklings causal simulation. They become projects only when voted into adoption through Consensus. Metrics shown reflect simulation model outputs, not real-world outcomes.

$0.05B CAD

Fiscal Impact

Short-term (0–2 years)

Time Horizon

Low–Medium

Implementation Risk

Epoch 105

Continuum Entry

Overview

Requires grocery retailers above $500M annual revenue to publicly disclose supply chain costs, per-category gross margins, and shrinkflation/reformulation events. Establishes the CCFN cost structure as the public benchmark against which private retail margins are measured. Ends the opacity that enables oligopoly pricing to go unchallenged.

Problem Statement

grocery_retail_margin_transparency is 3% — near-complete opacity. Private grocery chains treat margin data as commercially sensitive. Consumers have no way to determine whether a price increase reflects a genuine input cost increase or margin expansion. Shrinkflation — reducing product size while maintaining price — is untracked and undisclosed. The 2023 parliamentary hearings established that margins expanded significantly post-pandemic while chains attributed prices to input costs. Without disclosure, this claim cannot be verified or contested. food_system_transparency_index is 0.11.

Proposed Approach

MANDATORY DISCLOSURE: Retailers above $500M revenue must publish quarterly: per-category gross margin, year-over-year margin change, top 20 supplier cost changes, own-brand vs. national brand margin differential. SHRINKFLATION REGISTRY: Any reduction in product size or quantity without proportional price reduction must be registered with the Competition Bureau and disclosed on shelf. BENCHMARK PUBLICATION: The CCFN publishes its cost structure for equivalent product categories monthly. Private retailers must display the CCFN benchmark price alongside their own for staple categories (bread, dairy, eggs, produce, meat). ENFORCEMENT: Competition Bureau receives dedicated funding for grocery sector monitoring. Failure to disclose triggers automatic administrative penalty — no need to prove harm.

Anticipated Impacts

grocery_retail_margin_transparency rises from 3% toward 75%+; grocery_price_index_vs_inflation compresses as disclosed margins face public and competitive pressure; food_system_transparency_index rises; food_system_concentration_index begins to fall as transparency enables Competition Bureau action on pricing conduct.

Ducklings Simulation

This proposal is active in the Ducklings causal simulation (Epoch 105). The simulation models downstream effects using a BFS cascade engine with strength-weighted, time-delayed edges capped at 3-hop depth and ±25% per-hop limits. Cascade outputs are bounded by variable saturation thresholds.

Domain: Food Security | Proposal ID: 223 | Series: F-series

How to Engage

Discuss this flightplan in the Pond forum under Food Security. Vote on adoption through Consensus. Adopted flightplans become projects with real-world implementation tracking.

Contact: [email protected]