Food inflation in Canada has a hidden driver nobody is talking about. Ontario just charged food manufacturers a billion dollars through it. You are paying that bill.

The Extended Producer Responsibility fee was designed to push the food industry toward greener packaging. Instead, Dr. Sylvain Charlebois says it created a patchwork of uncoordinated provincial systems with no oversight and no results. Ontario is the worst. Newfoundland is the only province that has not implemented it.

The EPR adds 0.8% to meat prices, 0.7% to produce, and nearly 1% at the centre of the store. Oregon built a centralized system with proper oversight that actually works. Dr. Sylvain Charlebois says it is a fixable problem. Canada just has not fixed it.

Topics: food inflation, EPR fee, grocery prices, Ontario food manufacturers, Extended Producer Responsibility

GUEST: Dr. Sylvain Charlebois | @foodprofessor

Originally aired on2026-05-21