Manitoba eyes new law targeting grocery shrinkflation

A grocery store aisle is pictured in an undated image.

The Manitoba government wants to adopt a new law targeting shrinkflation.

That is the practice where a package in the grocery store is reduced in size but the price remains the same.

The province says it will require the unit price per item be displayed at the grocery store so shoppers know what they are getting and for how much.

This measure came out of a grocery study released by the province on Monday.

The government also announced $2.5 million towards Harvest Manitoba’s Food Transformation Centre where leftover food from farms and grocery stores will be sent to Harvest to reduce waste.

There is also a pledge to support a downtown grocery store to increase access to affordable food.

Finance Minister Adrien Sala couldn’t say if this would be a private sector-led initiative or if the government would be involved.

In the past, True North’s plans for Portage Place have included a full-scale grocery store.

The grocery study comes a week before PST is set to come off of groceries. The province has already frozen the price on one litre milk cartons, and Sala says they are still considering freezes on other sizes.