The National Post reports in its Saturday edition that the Liberal government's planned changes to the Competition Act, to tackle rising grocery and housing costs, came as a surprise and stand to improve competition in Canada, says Canadian Anti-monopoly Project director Keldon Bester. The Post's Anja Karadeglija writes that Mr. Bester says, "These are issues that we've known about in the Competition Act for a long time, and they've hurt the competitive potential of Canada for decades." On Thursday, as part of a wider suite of announcements focused on affordability, the government said it would amend the Competition Act with the aim of lowering grocery prices. The move comes as the Liberal government has been under increasing pressure from the Conservatives and the NDP to tackle the soaring cost of food and housing, and days ahead of the House of Commons reconvening for its fall sitting on Monday. The changes would give the Competition Bureau the power to compel information from companies so it can produce effective market studies, and "empower the Bureau to take action" when companies collaborate to stifle competition, for example when large grocery stores prevent smaller competitors from operating nearby.