Toronto Mayor Moves to Ban 'Surveillance Pricing' at Grocery Stores

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow is introducing a motion to ban "surveillance pricing" for groceries and other essentials, describing the practice as "unfair price gouging" that uses personal data to increase costs for customers. According to CBC Toronto, the practice involves businesses adjusting prices based on what they believe an individual customer is willing to pay.

Mayor Chow, supported by Coun. Alejandra Bravo, is directing city staff to investigate all possible methods to regulate and ban the practice for items sold online and delivered within the city. Coun. Bravo characterized the use of consumer data to maximize corporate profit as "predatory pricing," noting that companies should not be permitted to use data such as internet search history to raise prices on essentials, as reported by CityNews Toronto.

Loblaw Companies spokesperson Youmna Rab told CBC Toronto that surveillance pricing "does not exist in grocery," stating that Loblaw will not use such pricing on e-commerce sites or shelf labels because eroding customer trust would outweigh any temporary gains.

The push for a municipal ban follows similar efforts at other levels of government. CityNews Toronto reports that Manitoba introduced legislation in March to ban "predatory pricing." However, Ontario Premier Doug Ford has opposed such bans, stating in April that competition in a free-market, capitalist society is the most effective way to lower costs. CBC Toronto notes that motions to ban the practice were previously voted down by the Ontario NDP in April and the federal NDP this spring, though a draft federal AI strategy indicated Canada intends to strengthen privacy laws to prevent the inappropriate use of personal information for surveillance pricing.