Canadian Food Industry Collaborative Alliance to develop a Code of Practice

In November 2020, Federal-Provincial-Territorial Agriculture and Food Ministers announced the creation of an FPT Working Group to identify potential measures to safeguard balance in the food system’s commercial relationships.

Several associations came together to form the Canadian Food Industry Collaborative Alliance and developed a framework that proposes a process for food industry leaders to develop a Canadian Food Industry Code of Practice.

The members of the Alliance represent thousands businesses in the Canadian food supply chain and include: Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers, Canadian Produce Marketing Association, Food and Beverage Canada, The Quebec Food Processing Council, Quebec Food Retailers Association, and Retail Council of Canada.

The Alliance believes that any Code of Practice must be developed in Canada for Canada, hence it must be developed by industry for industry, “and must reflect and respect the unique elements of Canada’s food supply chain and federated system of government. Therefore, there must be just one Code of Practice throughout the country administered uniformly to ensure consistency.”

To promote good faith dealings and responsible commercial conduct along the food supply chain, the following principles should be reflected in a Code of Practice:

• Ensuring transparency and contractual certainty in all commercial transactions.
• Ensuring best practice reciprocity throughout the supply chain.
• Promoting fair and ethical dealings in contract negotiations, particularly where there is a significant disparity in negotiating power between the parties.
• Ensuring equitable distribution of food supply.
• Providing supports for small and mid-sized parties to commercial transactions.
• Providing an effective, fair and applicable dispute resolution process.