National Framework for Food Price Transparency Act

While consumer price clarity supports household financial security, the bill primarily sets up a process and reports without clear, measurable outcomes or assurances it will simplify rather than add to existing rules. It risks new administrative costs with uncertain impact on affordability, productivity, or investment.

• Positives: empowers shoppers with clearer information; potential to harmonize standards nationwide
• Concerns: vague on outcomes, costs, and enforcement; risk of duplicating provincial regimes; 18‑month timeline and five‑year review signal incrementalism; burdens could fall hardest on small grocers
• Improvements Builders would pursue:
  • Make harmonization explicit: one national standard that replaces overlapping provincial rules via FPT agreement
  • Set concrete targets (e.g., 95% unit price accuracy, reduction in price discrepancies) and publish quarterly scorecards
  • Require open data for digital price and unit price feeds to enable comparison tools and competition, enhancing consumer safety and financial security
  • Include a small-business exemption or simplified pathway and a regulatory budget (one-for-one offset) to prevent added red tape
  • Publish a cost–benefit analysis and use existing agencies to administer, avoiding creation of new bureaucracy and keeping costs low