Walmart slapped higher prices on one-litre milk cartons than permitted by Manitoba law
Walmart Canada was recently selling one-litre cartons of milk in Manitoba stores for higher prices than provincial law allows.
The grocery chain was spotted at several stores and online selling one litre of Beatrice milk for $2.88, despite the province limiting the price to a maximum of $2.03 for 2% milk and $1.97 for 1% milk.
Kate Kehler, an advocate for people with low incomes, said Walmart owes its customers an explanation.
“It’s a large chain. They ought to know the rules,” said Kehler, executive director of the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg.
“And if they don’t, they need to find out how that how that happened.”
CBC News first noticed the price discrepancy of the kitchen staple late Friday and began asking questions over the weekend. A Walmart spokesperson said the company was looking into the matter, but didn’t answer CBC’s questions over the course of three days.
Price dropped after CBC’s inquiries
By Monday, the price of those milk cartons was reverted to a normal cost, just below the provincial maximum.
It isn’t known how long Walmart was overcharging customers for one-litre milk cartons.
Kehler said it’s incumbent on the company to explain the price hike in order to regain the trust of customers.
“If a mistake was made, then a mistake was made and they’re going to have to do something to make it up to people.”
She suggested the company make amends by offering customers a discount. She compared the possible remedy to Loblaws customers getting a $25 gift card as compensation for the bread price-fixing scandal in the early 2000s.
“An apology is always the first step,” Kehler said. “It’s actually what you do to to back up that apology that matters.”
Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn said Tuesday he’s instructed his department to examine the price of milk at Walmart. He said he couldn’t speak about next steps before understanding what happened.
Provincial law dictates anybody who violates the Milk Prices Review Act can be fined between $500 and $5,000.
The current restrictions only impact homogenized, 2%, 1% and skim milk that are in a one-litre container.
Other types of milk, such as oat or lactose-free, aren’t impacted by the price controls.
Kehler wants a cap on the price of bigger cartons of milk as well, especially at a time when people are struggling to make ends meet.
“Buying a litre of milk at a time is the most expensive way of buying milk,” she said. “It would be good if [the province] looked at all of them.”
Kostyshyn said any potential changes would require discussions with the government and supply management officials, while explaining the current price limit on one litre of milk is a priority for the province.
Other stores have also been caught charging more for milk than what is allowed by law.
A 2013 investigation from CBC News found some downtown Winnipeg stores overcharging for one-litre cartons of milk, prompting the former NDP government to promise a review of the practice.
Kostyshyn, who was also agriculture minister at the time, didn’t have an answer Tuesday as to what resulted from the review.
Kehler said the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg noticed in 2022 that a 7-Eleven location was charging too much for one-litre milk cartons. It brought the issue to the store’s attention and the price was reduced.
The set price for milk is usually amended annually in the province. This February, the price in each of the four categories dropped by one cent.
Walmart Canada has yet to provide an explanation for its decision to sell one litre cartons of milk for a higher price than Manitoba law permits.
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