Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne stated that it is "unacceptable" for "smaller players" like Walmart and Costco to delay signing the grocery code of conduct led by the government and industry, after Loblaw, the industry giant, agreed to do so.

Champagne told CTV's question period host, Vassy Kapelos, in an interview aired on Sunday: "They will sign on, I have every faith that they will do it."

After months of negotiations, Loblaw announced this week that it is ready to sign the grocery code of conduct, with President and CEO Per Bank telling the Canadian Press that the revised version is "fair."

Champagne said, "We have pressured Loblaw, and you see the result," adding, "Clearly, I don’t think it’s possible for Costco or Walmart to ignore the will of the Canadian government and Canadian consumers."

The voluntary code of conduct has been in the works for over two years, but the federal government pledged to expedite it in the fall as a means to help stabilize food prices. The code aims to set guidelines for fair dealings between grocery retailers and their suppliers.

While not all five major grocery stores in Canada have signed, Loblaw has relied on the participation of others.

When asked whether his department was involved in discussions to compel other grocery stores to sign, the Industry Minister replied, "Of course."

Champagne stated, "The pressure is on Walmart and Costco to do the same," referring to threats from the federal government to introduce legislation to make the code mandatory if grocers do not sign voluntarily.

Champagne also vowed to "continue the pressure," adding that he has been meeting continuously with smaller retailers, and that "it’s about fairness and transparency."

He added, "Now that Loblaw is on board, he expects Walmart and Costco to follow suit."

He said, "For me, Loblaw was the one we needed to convince to ensure all others join."

When pressed about the delays, considering the federal government stated over six months ago that it would expedite the code, Champagne said he believes many retailers were waiting for Loblaw to take the lead.

"I would say that when you have Loblaw, which represents 30 percent of the market in Canada, I’ll tell you, it seems to me unacceptable for Walmart and Costco not to join the code of conduct, because that's what the industry wants, not just the government, not just the consumer, but that’s what the industry wants."

And when pressed further about the threat of legislation, Champagne said it’s an unlikely tool at this stage.

He remarked, "I don’t think that will happen," adding, "We’ve been very clear that if that doesn’t happen, but that was at that time, we would need to push Loblaw, and now you’re talking about two smaller players in the industry."

Walmart Canada spokesperson Sarah Kennedy told the Canadian Press this week that the company "just received the latest draft of the revised grocery code of conduct, which had not been shared with us before."

She wrote in a statement via email: "We will review it and determine the next steps." "And as we've said all along, we continue to focus on the best interests of our customers."