That's because people do want to buy local.
You touched on another aspect that's important to us, as you know. I want to talk about the legacy of the Achille de la Chevrotière food wholesaler, which was bought out by Sobeys in 2006. Before that takeover, we had an independent distributor that had $270 million in sales and supplied 25 independent markets. That obviously helped producers get into grocery stores in Ontario, Abitibi-Témiscamingue and the north, as well as in Saguenay—Lac‑Saint‑Jean. The distribution centre was in Rouyn-Noranda.
Unfortunately, because of the Sobeys takeover, the operations were scaled back. The image that followed, which for us is farcical, is the Guyenne tomatoes. They now leave Guyenne, a village in Abitibi West, go for about an eight-hour drive to reach the warehouses in Montreal, stay there for a few days then return to our grocery stores, with the impact that this can have on freshness.
How can we recreate the models that ensure that our regions are not penalized and have access to truly local products, made by our local producers, in our grocery stores?