We're going to be a little different from the rest of the witnesses.
We are Andrew Telfer and Philippe Cantin, for the Retail Council of Canada. Thank you for inviting us this afternoon to talk on this important issue, apparently an issue that is ever-increasing, as I hear that a disposable coffee cup was spotted in Winterfell on Game of Thrones last night. It's definitely an increasing issue.
We're from the Retail Council of Canada. Retail is Canada's largest private sector employer, with over 2.1 million Canadians working in our industry. The sector generates over $76 billion in wages and employee benefits annually. Retail Council of Canada members represent more than two-thirds of core retail sales in this country. We're also a not-for-profit industry-funded association. We represent more than 45,000 storefronts in all retail formats, including department, grocery, specialty, discount, independent, and also online. Our grocery members represent over 90% of the market in Canada.