Thank you.
On behalf of the Canadian Convenience Stores Association, I'd like to thank committee members for the opportunity to speak with you in these pre-budget consultations.
Most people may not realize that convenience stores are a cornerstone for rural and remote parts of Canada, an important component to ensuring prosperous and safe communities. As you may know, there are 190,000 people employed in the convenience store industry across Canada. Our stores contribute over $40 billion to the Canadian economy, and we serve over 10 million Canadians and foreigners in the country each and every day.
Our association was established to act as the voice for the convenience store industry in the 23,000 locations across the country. Of those locations, approximately 20% of the stores are located in rural communities. That amounts to about 4,600 sites that, in many cases, serve as the only retail offering for the customers in that area. For many of these communities, the local convenience store is the sole place to purchase necessities such as bread, milk, and gas. Many of these communities are home to Canada's aging population, and for seniors traveling long distances to obtain these products it presents serious challenges, especially in the winter months. Our small, rural retailers are a lifeline for the small, rural communities in which they operate. When a store closes its doors in these rural locations, it's a pretty strong sign that the communities will struggle to continue as well.
As an example of the importance of convenience stores to our rural communities, we need to look only to the village of Wallace, Nova Scotia. In December 2012, the only convenience store in that area, Wallace RiteSTOP, had a significant fire that gutted the entire operation. Rebuilding the store was a question mark. The village was small and the customer base was in decline; suppliers were questioning whether or not they wanted to continue to operate in that area. The lives of Wallace residents changed dramatically during the several months the store was closed, as they were required to travel over 18 kilometres to get to the nearest store in the area. This was the only fueling station servicing Wallace at the time, and community members, the local fire department, and the ambulance service were required to gas up elsewhere, which caused some significant concern. After nearly 80 years in business and serving as the sole-service epicentre for the town, the future of the store was bleak.
Fortunately, the story had a happy ending. Thanks to the nearly 600 people in Wallace who rallied together to save the store, they travelled from the local elementary school to the burnt-out store to convince the owners and suppliers that the store was needed in that community. Their message was that it was an important social gathering and service base for the people of Wallace, and they needed that store to continue.
This is just one of the many examples of the critical role our stores play in serving rural and remote communities in Canada. Our retailers take pride in being a safe haven for residents in the communities they serve. No matter the hour, our lights are always on. Ultimately, convenience retailers will only be able to continue to serve their communities if the business environment is favourable. Think of our rural stores as canaries in the mine shaft. They're the first to know and hardest hit by the challenges facing our industry. Coming from small communities, with small customer bases, it's a big challenge for them to continue operations, so anything that impacts our industry as a whole is particularly impactful on those small retailers. Their margins are razor thin.
Our pre-budget submission discusses the challenges that threaten the livelihood of these rural businesses and our industry more broadly. Specifically, we've identified over-regulation and the need to comply with red tape as a heavy burden for retailers struggling to stay afloat, and excessive credit card fees, which make it very difficult for our retail members to survive, especially those small, independent retailers who do not have the margins or the sales amounts to negotiate lower credit card rates for their store. Furthermore, our rural stores are threatened by the persistence of contraband tobacco, which is provided at low cost and without age verification for anyone who's willing to buy.
I would be happy to elaborate on these points further, following the presentations.
Once again, thank you, on behalf of our association for your interest in the convenience store industry.