Food industry leaders are close to finalizing a draft of the first-ever code of conduct for the Canadian grocery business, according to internal documents submitted to government this month. The draft rules give those players rights that are “100 times better than what they’ve got today,” he said. The negotiators are also in favour of establishing a Grocery Code Adjudication Office, similar to a model used in the United Kingdom’s grocery code of conduct, which would have funding, staff and arbitrators available to enforce the code, according to the progress report. The progress report lays out an industry consultation process on the draft rules that will run between November and January. The negotiating team is also working on a “communication and educational strategy for the code’s pending implementation,” the report said.
