Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
We've distributed a bilingual presentation—with the blue and white RCC logo and cover—and I'll refer to it during my presentation.
My name is Diane Brisebois. I am president and chief executive officer of the Retail Council of Canada.
It's a privilege to appear before this committee.
As a whole, members of the RCC account for more than 80% of total sales in general merchandise, drug, and grocery retail in Canada, and the RCC represents 12% of the Canadian labour force.
We represent more than 45,000 independent retailers, regional, national and international chains and online merchants.
Retail sales in Canada reached $437 billion in 2010, with the auto sector representing approximately 30% of the market, and food and general merchandise 70%, or approximately $304 billion.
Total sales in the retail sector exceeded $437 billion in 2010.
In 2010 retailers contributed close to $75 billion to Canada's GDP.
Last year, the sector's direct contribution to Canada's gross domestic product was $75 billion.
I can confidently say that Canadian merchants both big and small continue to be a critical component of Canada's economy. We look to the federal government to help ensure that market conditions for merchants remain viable and competitive across Canada.
With that in mind, I will outline three issues, detailed on page 7, that present the greatest concerns for retailers: first, we'd ask for the elimination of duties on imported consumer goods wherever the duties are no longer needed. Second, we continue to support a regulated “made in Canada” debit and credit card system that provides greater transparency and accountability, that drives competition and cost efficiency, and that functions across all future platforms, such as mobile technology. Finally, we ask that current and future reviews of Canada's employment insurance program take into account the employment insurance employer form recommendation.
Our written submission to the committee outlines our position in detail, but I'll summarize our core concerns.
Regarding the elimination of import duties, we believe that the government can help reduce costs for retailers and consumers by eliminating duties on certain imported goods. Many of the duties are as high as 18%, compared to 0% paid by retailers in the United States. The Retail Council is also looking forward to contributing to the study announced by the Minister of Finance concerning price differentials on consumer products sold in Canada and the U.S., and will be appearing shortly before the Senate committee.
Another issue that continues to be a concern for retailers is the development of a regulated “made in Canada” debit and credit card system. RCC commends the government on the creation of the voluntary code of conduct for the credit and debit card industry. However, the code addresses only credit and debit card transactions at the point of sale in a store. With the advent of new products such as mobile and touch-and-go payments, the code is now outdated. RCC recommends that the code of conduct be revised to include provisions regarding new forms of payment such as mobile and contactless payment, and that this committee support the recommendations of the task force for the payments system review.
Lastly, I would like to point out that employers are key stakeholders in the employment insurance system that extracts some $11 billion from them annually in EI premiums.
Employers are seeking an approach that addresses the current challenges of socio-economic change and qualified labour shortages in order to boost the economy and prosperity for all.
The Employment Insurance Program should be operated as a true insurance program. It should provide temporary income support to individuals who involuntarily lose their jobs. This also means the social-program aspects of EI should be handled separately, outside this employer-employee paid insurance program. At minimum, this segment must now grow as a proportion of the system, and the related spending must be carefully tracked and its utility justified.
We have also included for your information additional slides relating to mobile payments as well as some of the task force comments and findings.
I thank you again for this opportunity to address the committee.
I will be pleased to answer all your questions. Thank you.