The provincial government is preparing to bring four cases against property controls to the Municipal Board, and one of those cases revolves around a location in Brandon.
1645 18th Street in Brandon is one of four locations the province will challenge. They passed the Property Controls for Grocery Stores and Supermarkets Act in June of last year.
“Manitoba families are getting squeezed by rising grocery prices, so we’re taking action to get those costs down,” said Premier Wab Kinew. “One company is still using property controls as a way of blocking competition, leaving buildings sitting vacant across the province. We’re standing up for Manitoba families, bringing a case against them to bring back competition and lower grocery bills.”
According to a provincial release, 43 property controls that existed prior to the legislation remain in place. They said they intend to challenge all of these.
This is part of the Manitoba government’s plan to lower grocery prices, which includes freezing the price of milk, banning predatory pricing and removing the PST from all groceries in Manitoba, the premier noted.
The former Sobeys building on 18th Street has been vacant since 2017 when the grocery store moved across the street.
