Industry Committee on Nov. 29th, 2007

[Ron Reaman]

With the UPA?

[Robert Vincent, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

I'm talking about the supply management position you held before this one.

[Ron Reaman]

As I said earlier, very, in the sense that I work very closely with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada with respect to agricultural commodity and international trade, with the Dairy Farmers of Canada, with the Chicken Farmers of Canada, with the Ontario.... We have some kind of relationship with all the commodity boards across this country and have worked with them very closely over the course of many, many years.

[Robert Vincent, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

So if I understand correctly, you work for the government and not the union. That's why you don't think supply management is important anymore.

Were you aware that there's been an increasing trend over the last couple of years of farmers committing suicide because the industry no longer gets any government subsidies?

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Okay. We'll have a brief response. There's very little time left, so Mr. Reaman.

[Ron Reaman]

I'm not sure how to respond to that. I'm not sure what your question is.

[Robert Vincent, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

We only have five minutes. It's not much. By the time I've explained myself and you've understood what I'm trying to get at, our time will have already run out.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Okay, I think it may be more of a comment than a question.

We'll go back to Mr. Stanton for five minutes.

[Bruce Stanton, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

To continue in the same vein with respect to the question, one of the narratives we've come across in this consideration of the service sector is the notion that service sector jobs are “McJobs”. I wonder how the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association responds to that.

[Joyce Reynolds]

We provide entry-level, first job experience for hundreds of thousands of youths. We provide a flexible work environment for students who want to save for or contribute to their education, who like the flexible hours that allow them to work part-time and maintain their school responsibilities, their family responsibilities.

We provide a foundation. We provide valuable experience for any career path. We provide problem solving skills, time management skills, service management skills: the basic job skills to give young people a start and--

[Bruce Stanton, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

I know one of your members, McDonald's Restaurants of Canada. Are they not one of the largest in terms of their investment in training and in their managerial systems for entry-level employees from which these employees go on to use those skills?

[Joyce Reynolds]

Absolutely, and we often hear people say if a young person has McDonald's Restaurants of Canada on their resumé, that's something other employers recognize, that these people have portable job skills.

You mentioned McDonald's Restaurants of Canada. I have to say that the president of McDonald's Canada, Louie Mele, started out at McDonald's as a crewperson. And you'll find that happens often in this industry. Boston Pizza is a great example of that. People who start as waiters and waitresses at Boston Pizza are now franchisees, investing in other communities, employing 80 to 100 people.

Obviously not everybody who starts in the food service industry--because something like one in three Canadians get their start in the food service industry--ends up in food service careers, but they get a start, they get the foundation to build into other careers.

[Bruce Stanton, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Madam Brisebois, I was really quite surprised and pleased to see the increase in average pay for retailers. We had seen some information earlier that put retail, for example, in the lower quadrant of that, but since 2000 to 2006, up to now, an average of $15.18 per hour--

[Diane Brisebois]

Hourly wages.

[Bruce Stanton, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Yes. Have you done projections on where that's going?

[Diane Brisebois]

We used to do projections, and we've stepped back for two reasons: one, because of the labour shortage and the impact that Alberta is having on wages right across the country; and two, on the impact of the high Canadian dollar. But generally, and this is anecdotal, so far we've spoken to about 70 of the largest retailers located across the country, and all of them are reporting higher wages going forward.

We believe as an association that in order to attract the right people, to try to reduce the attrition, wages will have to be competitive with other sectors. So I suspect that we will see those wages go up. In fact, that's the only way, because in fact our members compete with the restaurant members, and the only way you get the best employees and keep those employees is to pay them competitive wages.

[Bruce Stanton, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Very good. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Thank you, Mr. Stanton.

We'll go to Ms. Nash, please.

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I have a question for you, Ms. Reynolds. Your slides show a decline in the availability of young workers over the next several years. What percentage of the restaurant and food jobs today would be held by youth, under age 24?

[Joyce Reynolds]

Forty-five per cent.

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Forty-five per cent. And what percentage would be held by seniors over 65?

[Joyce Reynolds]

I don't have that, but it would be a fairly small percentage.

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

So about half of these jobs are held by people who are over 24, who are for all intents and purposes not youth but adults. Do you know the average length of service of people in that category, the over-24-year-olds?

[Joyce Reynolds]

I don't know if we have that or not. I can check on that and get back to you. I certainly don't know it offhand. I am not sure that is a stat we have, but it is something I can look for.

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Looking at some background notes that were prepared for us, they say that in accommodation and food services the average weekly earnings are $304. That may vary. I am sure it does vary in places like Alberta right now, where there is a labour shortage. But again, I'm thinking of my neck of the woods, which is Ontario, specifically Toronto, the most expensive city in the country, and I imagine that someone who is an adult over 25, living on weekly earnings even slightly higher than this, would find it extremely difficult.

I'm wondering what would be the average wage in the accommodation and food services sector in Toronto, for example.