Evidence of meeting #55 for Agriculture and Agri-Food in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was walmart.
A video is available from Parliament.
6:50 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Wal-Mart Canada Corp.
We used to have that practice. With every practice, we continue to revisit what we think is best for our customers.
6:50 p.m.
Conservative
The Vice-Chair Conservative John Barlow
Thank you very much, Mr. Turnbull.
Next, we have Mr. Perron,
Go ahead, Mr. Perron. You have six minutes.
6:50 p.m.
Bloc
Yves Perron Bloc Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Gebara, thank you for being with us today. We're glad you're here. I would be grateful if you could keep your answers short, because time is of the essence.
Ms. Rood brought up the fees that were introduced in 2020 during the COVID‑19 pandemic. Pressure was then brought to bear on the sector, and there was a call for a grocer code of conduct or grocer best practices. Those negotiations are under way, in fact.
Are you involved in that?
6:50 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Wal-Mart Canada Corp.
Forgive me, Mr. Perron. I speak a bit of French, but I didn't get the English interpretation of what you said. If I could get the interpretation, I could answer your question.
6:50 p.m.
Bloc
Yves Perron Bloc Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
The witness may not have selected the right channel, Mr. Chair.
6:50 p.m.
Conservative
The Vice-Chair Conservative John Barlow
Mr. Gebara, there should be a button on your screen which allows you to change the translation to English. Can you see it there?
6:55 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Wal-Mart Canada Corp.
Yes, I have the English.
6:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Vice-Chair Conservative John Barlow
Mr. Perron, try that again, and we'll see if the translation comes through.
6:55 p.m.
Bloc
Yves Perron Bloc Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
Mr. Gebara, much was made in the media of the 5% fee imposed on online ordering and the 1.25% fee for store upgrades. There was an outcry, and it led to the call for a grocer code of conduct.
Are you involved in that process? Please keep your answer short.
6:55 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Wal-Mart Canada Corp.
We received a draft of the code of conduct very recently. We are reviewing it. As I said earlier, we will support any initiative that would bring better conditions and the ability to have more transparency in the whole chain.
6:55 p.m.
Bloc
Yves Perron Bloc Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
You're saying that even if it wasn't mandatory to adhere to the code, your company would comply and participate in the process along with the other companies, to bring more transparency to the industry and consumers.
Do I have that right?
6:55 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Wal-Mart Canada Corp.
Yes. We think that we already work in a very transparent way with our customers and with all of our stakeholders. We have our own code of conduct and policy on how that should be done in our company. Also, anything that can be done to continue to improve the general conditions of retail, we are happy to contribute to that. As long as it's a good thing for consumers, we will support it.
6:55 p.m.
Bloc
Yves Perron Bloc Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
That's a commitment, then, to comply with the code of conduct. That's good news. Thank you.
Will you also commit to reviewing the code a year into its implementation? The concern I and many other parliamentarians have is that the code will serve merely as decoration, to make the companies look good, with no real impact on how prices are set.
That's why I'd like to know whether you will also commit to taking part in a review of the code a year into its implementation? Will you commit to Wal‑Mart's ongoing participation in the process, yes or no?
6:55 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Wal-Mart Canada Corp.
Our business is a very dynamic business. There's a natural evolution of the business all the time. Any natural evolution of the business should be supported with whatever addition or deletion from whatever conditions we see today.
I think that is just part of the natural way that we need to conduct business.
6:55 p.m.
Bloc
Yves Perron Bloc Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
Now, Mr. Gebara, I'd like to revisit the issue Ms. Rood raised. I'm talking about the store upgrade fees, late fines and other charges.
You said that your company is transparent. Do you think your suppliers truly have any negotiating power? How does it work when a supplier negotiates prices with Wal‑Mart?
6:55 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Wal-Mart Canada Corp.
In terms of negotiation, we have this approach of engaging with our suppliers in a very transparent way. They are arm's length negotiations and, I would say, very intense negotiations, where we cover all of the merits of the business, depending on the activities and on the different industries in which our suppliers operate.
As you know, the supply chain has different costs. We have a position of—
6:55 p.m.
Bloc
Yves Perron Bloc Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
Sorry to cut you off, Mr. Gebara, but I don't have a lot of time.
I gather that you negotiate, but I want to follow up on your profits, your margin.
Mr. Turnbull asked you about your profit breakdown. You said that you would provide all the financial information requested by the Competition Bureau, which is currently investigating that very issue. Is that correct?
7 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Wal-Mart Canada Corp.
We have voluntarily provided all of the relevant information that was requested. That's already been given to the bureau.
7 p.m.
Bloc
Yves Perron Bloc Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
Mr. Gebara, I realize that your stores sell a wide range of products. What is your profit margin on food products?
7 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Wal-Mart Canada Corp.
As you know, we sell a wide variety of items. In general, our margins on food items are lower than on non-food items or, as we call them, general merchandise items.
7 p.m.
Conservative
The Vice-Chair Conservative John Barlow
Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
Your time's up. You got it pretty good there. I gave you a little extra because of the translation issues.
We'll now turn to our colleague from the New Democrats.
Mr. MacGregor, you have six minutes, please.
7 p.m.
NDP
Alistair MacGregor NDP Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Gebara, for appearing before our committee and answering some questions about an issue that many Canadians from coast to coast to coast are very concerned about.
I want to change to a slightly different tack. I want to ask you first of all, as CEO and president, what you would say is the average hourly wage of your sales associates across Canada.
7 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Wal-Mart Canada Corp.
As we have said in many opportunities, we believe that we serve as a really good employment opportunity for everybody.
7 p.m.
NDP
Alistair MacGregor NDP Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC
With respect, I'm just looking for.... Do you have a number?
Do you know what the average hourly wage is? What is the specific number?
7 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Wal-Mart Canada Corp.
Yes, all of our associates make more than the minimum wage. That's for sure.
I don't have the average number at this point, Mr. MacGregor. I will need to take that away.