Thank you.
Good morning. My name is Diane Brisebois, and I serve as the president and chief executive officer of Retail Council of Canada.
Mr. Chair and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to speak to this matter. I apologize for not being present during the hearings, but as you may have been told, we are just a couple of days from our annual conference, so I had to remain in Toronto.
While my remarks will be short, I will be pleased to answer all of your questions.
Retail Council of Canada is a not-for-profit industry association representing more than 45,000 storefronts in Canada. Its membership includes independent merchants, regional and national chains, mass merchants, big box retailers, and online merchants. Its membership also covers all categories of retail, including general merchandise, grocery, and drugs.
The recent tragic factory accidents and horrific loss of life in Bangladesh have generated shock and outrage, but also a renewed commitment to action. The buyers of Bangladesh-made garments, apparel brands, retailers, and manufacturers recognize the responsibility to initiate action that will have an immediate, positive, and sustained impact on the safety and lives of garment workers in Bangladesh.
Our members believe that any successful effort to address the problem of building safety in Bangladesh will require support, shared responsibility, and action among buyers, factory owners, the Bangladeshi government, factory workers, and other stakeholders. Therefore, Retail Council of Canada is fully committed to working with these groups toward effective global solutions to the building safety problems in Bangladesh, which may also serve as a model to address such problems that may arise in other supplier countries.
Immediately following the tragic factory accident in Bangladesh, Retail Council organized several conference calls with all interested parties and also began to act as a hub for information on current and new initiatives. The role of Retail Council is to provide its members with information with respect to the various initiatives that have been proposed, including the Accord on Fire and Building Safety, and the North American Bangladesh worker safety initiative.
In partnership with other associations in North America, which include the American Apparel & Footwear Association, the Canadian Apparel Federation, the National Retail Federation, and the Retail Industry Leaders Association, RCC is working to develop a common framework for action and is also in the midst of surveying its members on their activities, including vendor codes and safety standards, in order to revise and develop industry guidelines for our members in Canada.
Garment industry jobs have been instrumental in helping or in moving forward the role of women in the economy and even within their own families in Bangladesh. It is important to continue to support the garment workers and to make significant contributions to workplace safety and to facilitate industry support for their economic empowerment.
We look forward to working with the Government of Canada in improving working and building conditions in developing countries. We also commit to keeping this committee abreast of our ongoing activities and progress in this area.
In closing, I give you our commitment that Retail Council will ensure that its ethical trading committee continues to be active, engaged, and assisting all members in the industry.
Thank you.