Galen Weston Jr. may have stepped down as the president and CEO of Loblaw Companies Ltd., but he is still the target of his fair share of criticism, as his family retains the largest stake in the Canadian retail food industry.

Still at the helm of the Weston grocery empire in his new role as chairman and CEO of George Weston Limited — parent company of Loblaws — Galen Jr. has served as the face of soaring grocery prices nationwide for many months now.

As consumers and their growing debt can attest to, food costs at supermarkets surged at a rate not seen in 41 years in 2022, and have steadily outpaced headline inflation, fuelling allegations of price gouging — which, of course, Loblaws already proved it was capable of doing with the infamous bread price-fixing scheme.

Galen Weston is trending again as new data about inflation in Canada emerges https://t.co/ytuKR4AQiW #Canada #GalenWeston

— blogTO (@blogTO) July 18, 2023

That scandal is part of the reason Weston is making headlines again this week, with executives at rival Metro now saying that he "falsely painted [Metro] as involved in a criminal price-fixing conspiracy when it was not."

The company has launched its own cross-claim in the ongoing bread price-fixing litigation, which Sobeys likewise did earlier in the fall. Walmart and Giant Tiger, meanwhile, are also denying partaking in the plot led by Canada Bread Co. and Weston Foods.

Fellow grocery giants aren't the only ones calling the tycoon out this week, either.

Those in the food industry who have been advocating for a grocery code of conduct to foster more competition and better practices in the sector have been frustrated with Weston's refusal to sign on to the proposal.

Along with saying that a mandatory and enforceable set of rules would actually mean more price hikes passed on to consumers, Weston apparently made false statements during formal discussions on the subject earlier this month.

Happy Hollidays & Seasons Greetings from #NoFrills #Superstore #Loblaws #FoodProfessor & the mighty #GalenWeston pic.twitter.com/DH1wYosTUv

— Greg Michaels (@KootenayGreg) December 20, 2023

In a meeting of the House of Commons' Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, he referenced Australia as an example of why the code would be a bad idea, saying that a similar system there — with third-party oversight, as is planned here — "supported increases in costs in essentially 100 per cent of cases."

However, Australian stakeholders have since clarified that their system does not actually have a third party involved in any of its grocery cost price increase processes. Per the Globe, the head of the Australian Food and Grocery Council went as far as saying she was "baffled" by Weston's comments.

Why would anyone choose to shop at Loblaws is beyond me. Every item on Loblaws grocery shelf is marked up twice the price of anywhere else

— Kassim Khan (@KassimK96507302) August 10, 2023

Weston has been a familiar face in the House of Commons since the committee called him to testify for a study on food price inflation earlier this year.

There was also a similar investigation launched by Canada's Competition Bureau last fall, and public appeals for the federal government to look into Loblaws, which has posted record profits in recent quarters.