I can tell you that local products have a place on our shelves.
Our business model is the same for all our franchisees from one end of the country to the other. They are people who are involved in their communities. They give space to those products because consumers want them. There is no objective other than that: consumers demand local products.
I don't have information to show that it is not profitable for vegetable producers. We negotiate with them and we offer them space on our shelves.
Our merchants do the same thing directly with them, without involving our company in most cases. Obviously, the big producers that go through our warehouses go through us, because of the costs associated with the logistics. It is all done contractually, by mutual agreement.
We never have enough local products. Even though we prefer to have products from Canada, it is unfortunately the case, even in season, that we have to get our supply from other countries. That is not what we prefer. Consumers prefer fresh local products.
To my knowledge, these are agreements negotiated contractually. We don't force anyone to sell to us at a loss. That is not at all a part of our culture.