Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee, for the opportunity to come and discuss the agriculture and agri-food supply chain with you today.
Let me give you a quick introduction to the Retail Council of Canada, the RCC.
Retail is the largest private employer in Canada. Over 2 million Canadians work in our industry. Recognized as the voice of retail in Canada, the RCC represents more than 45,000 businesses of all types, including department stores, specialty stores, discount stores, independent businesses, online shops and, most importantly, food retailers.
RCC member food retailers are a proud and integral part of the Canadian food system. They are the stakeholders who are in direct contact with consumers, providing Canadians with the wide variety of foods they eat every day.
The COVID‑19 pandemic has caused unprecedented upheaval in the Canadian food supply system. The RCC and its members have worked closely with Canadian producers, processors and importers throughout this crisis to adapt to emerging challenges and changing consumer behaviours and demands.
We recognize and applaud the work that the government of Canada has done to date, but more needs to be done to ensure that the country is well placed to meet the medium and long-term challenges of maintaining our food supply chain in the wake of the COVID‑19 pandemic.
In this regard, I would like to point out that our members are already expressing serious concerns about the current supply chain challenges and pandemic-induced shortages that are greatly affecting the availability and costs of food products on retail shelves.
Challenges include international container availability and cost; extreme weather events, such as the flooding in British Columbia; rising fuel and transportation costs; the availability and cost of labour; and rising costs that suppliers are charging for goods. These challenges have been severely exacerbated by border crossing blockades, and this at a time when Canada is particularly dependent on fruits and vegetables from outside the country, impacting their perishability and further compounding the issue of availability and price.
RCC is respectfully calling on the federal government to help stabilize supply chains and lower inflationary pressures in three key areas.
First, as significant progress has been made towards removing existing blockades, RCC is asking the federal government to work together with all levels of government to swiftly develop proactive solutions for each unique crossing, point of entry—land, air and rail—and critical supply line in Canada to prevent future disruptions elsewhere in the country in the days and weeks ahead.
Second, we ask the government to delay the implementation of any discretionary regulations so that retailers can focus resources on ensuring the stability and reliance of their supply chains. While RCC members are supportive of the intent behind such proposed regulations as front-of-pack nutrition labelling and reformulating labels for natural health products, every new regulatory consultation and requirement requires a shift in focus and adds additional costs at a very sensitive and fragile time.
Finally, the federal government can help ease inflationary pressures in areas where it has direct control. This includes allocating quota under Canada’s new free trade agreements at the retail level, which is the level closest to Canadian consumers, if Canadian families are to see some of the benefits of free trade agreements in the form of savings and choice. Quota is currently being allocated by Canada to processors. This adds an unnecessary layer and added cost, and essentially gives all the quota to those who compete with the very products that would be imported.
This also includes conducting a review of the process for setting dairy prices in Canada. The Canadian Dairy Commission’s current process does not include, in any meaningful way, the views of the grocery and restaurant retail industries, along with those of consumers, and instead relies on self-reported and unverified data. We ask the federal government to improve this process based on the need for greater representation, transparency and authentication.
I will be happy to answer your questions.