Farmers face spiraling cost increases. Ottawa-The Commons agriculture committee has provided the federal government with a long shopping list of recommendations for tackling food prices, food waste and farm income problems. Among the proposals in a 74-page report on Grocery Affordability prepared by the committee was that if the Competition Bureau finds evidence the large grocery chains are generating excess profits on food items, “the government should consider introducing a windfall profits tax on large, price-setting corporations to disincentivize excess hikes in their profit margins for these items.” The committee recommended the government increase inspections to achieve compliance and require that foreign products meet the same quality standards as domestic products for both environmental and labour standards. The report repeated the committee's earlier call on the government to directly reimburse Eastern Canadian farmers and retailers who have paid a 35 per cent tariff on Russian fertilizer since March 2022 and that the tariff be discontinued going forward. The government should support “agricultural producers and others in the agri-food industry to mitigate their costs and ensure they have sufficient cash flow during this period of high inflation.” The report suggested that be done by ensuring companies have access to short-term, low-cost credit; and maintaining the increased threshold for interest-free payments under the Advance Payments Program. It also called for a more concerted effort at reducing food waste by eliminating best before dates and working with the grocery sector and charitable organizations to divert food that might be wasted to people who need it. The government should collect more data on costs in the agrifood supply chain and make them public as the U.S. does so consumers better understand where their food dollar goes. Both the Conservative and NDP members of the committee contributed their own opinions and recommendations to the report, which the government was asked to respond to. That likely will not happen until later this year. The Conservatives said consumers face a steady diet of higher food prices that could rise by as much as 34 per cent by 2025. The government's inflationary spending and deficits are the main drivers of the rising costs along with the impact of the federal Carbon Tax on food production costs. “The government's pursuit to penalize greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters through the imposition of carbon taxes without properly recognizing those who have been mitigating and removing GHG's for years or decades, are both short-sighted and inequitable. “These are not insignificant costs, and they will compromise the competitiveness of our farmers, ranchers and processors who have, for years, demonstrated an ability to deliver meaningful reductions in emissions through the adoption of new technologies, education and innovative management practices.” The NDP said the government of Canada “must implement measures to tackle food price inflation, with an emphasis on corporate greed as a major driver of inflation, and we call on the Government of Canada to act in recognition of Canada's own domestic food policy, in addition to its international obligations to a right to food.” Food banks across the country are already at a breaking point as they prepare for another rise in food bank visits. The NDP noted that Statistics Canada expects 20 per cent of Canadians will depend on food charities, family and friends to get by.