A petition to save Thrifty Foods has almost 2,000 signatures, but it's unlikely to change the Competition Bureau's order to sell the Sapperton grocery store.
Phil Norris, competition bureau spokesperson, didn't want to comment on the petition or whether it would have any effect on the bureau's decision to order Thrifty's sold.
Instead, he noted the reasons the bureau marked Thrifty's as one of the 23 stores in Western Canada that Sobeys Inc. needed to sell before it would approve the company's purchase of Safeway Canada.
"So we examined the levels of competition in all of the local markets where both a Sobeys and a Safeway store is present - other full-line grocery stores that are located in the same geographic areas as the party stores were considered to be competitors to those parties," Norris said.
"In most of the local markets, the bureau found there were enough sizable competitors (that) will act as effective remaining competitors after the transaction is completed, however in certain markets, such as New Westminster, the parties have a significant share and the extent of other competition is limited."
The bureau also found that barriers of entry to be fairly high, especially with respect to real estate, in some of the locations, he said.
"We've had a lot of calls from Winnipeg actually because we required the divestiture of a Price Chopper and four Safeway's there," Norris said. "It's based on the size of the market - there's a lot that goes into a review."
The consent agreement to have Sobeys sell the various stores is critical, he said, because without it the corporation would have too much "power" in the market.
"So the consent agreement is designed to ensure that Sobeys doesn't run the entire market in certain locations," he said.
But Norris noted that a new grocery store must go into the current Thrifty's location before the sale is approved.
As for whether that sale will go through this month, Norris said there "is an initial sale period, and that info is not public."
The announcement that Thrifty's was being sold has upset a number of residents who like shopping at the grocery store that has been an anchor tenant for the Brewery District development. The store is only about two years old.
City council has even come onboard in the fight to save the beloved grocery store.
Mayor Wayne Wright took part in a conference call with the bureau earlier this week.
"We had a telephone conversation, a conference call, with them telling us exactly what was going on," he said. "(Coun.) Lorrie Williams is going there to have a meeting with them. We wanted to get the information beforehand, and see if there is anything she needed to bring."
The competition bureau assured the city the location would remain as a grocery store.
"They can't say anything. All their dealings with Sobeys and Safeway are confidential," he said.
Wright said the competition bureau couldn't say when Thrifty Foods would close, but indicated it wouldn't' be overnight.
"This will take quite a bit of time before this changes from a Thrifty," he said. "They wouldn't tell us that - we asked them how long. They said that's not a thing we can share with you."
A grocery store will remain at the site, said Wright, because it's needed at that location. Williams has scheduled a meeting with the bureau and will stress the community's desire to see Thrifty Foods remain at the Brewery District location.
