The federal government is demanding major Canadian grocers come up with a plan to stabilize prices, drawing pushback from the food industry.

The call out comes as Canadians continue to struggle with inflation.

PM Justin Trudeau said his government will be asking the five largest grocery companies including Loblaw Cos. Ltd., Metro Inc., Empire Co. Ltd., Walmart Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp. to come up with a plan by Thanksgiving.

“If their plan doesn’t provide real relief for the middle class and people working hard to join it, then we will take further action and we are not ruling anything out including tax measures”

Major grocers have been facing accusation’s of profiteering amid high inflation, though executives from Loblaw, Metro and Empire denied these allegations before a parliamentary committee studying food inflation earlier this year.

The Retail Council of Canada said in a statement Thursday that grocer prices and profits have nothing to do with rising food prices, pointing instead to higher costs being passed on from food manufacturers and producers.

The group said that any discussions on food pricing need to also include processors, manufacturers and other relevant businesses in the supply chain.

Anthony Fuchs, spokesman for the Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada, which represents food producers, said in a statement that both the timing of the announcement and the threat of tax measures was concerning.

“We believe that using taxation as a punitive measure on retailers, especially at this time, is not only ill-advised but might have a detrimental ripple effect on the whole food supply chain, including food producers,” said Fuchs.

“Today’s announcement, which proposed a broad approach to a nuanced issue, may lead to unintended consequences.”

The Canadian Press