Yes. If it's easier. I'm quite pleased. And it is my name, so I won't be offended.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee.
Thank you very much for being here today and receiving our recommendations and our thoughts on employability.
As a business association that represents over 40,000 storefronts across Canada, we constantly canvass our members regarding issues of concern. Employability, recruiting, and retaining good people are obviously on the top of their list, and specifically here in Alberta. This is the reason the Retail Council of Canada, as a national association, chose to present its views to the committee here today in Calgary.
More than most sectors of the economy, retail is people dependent. Labour accounts for more than half of the operating costs of a typical store. Let me add that while often, when we think retail, we think big, we think national chains and large discounters, 90% of the retail communities are represented by small businesses that employ fewer than 10 people in their stores.
The number of stores in Canada increased by more than 15,000 between 2000 and 2004, and employment in this sector grew by 165,000 workers during that time, adding four times as many workers as did the entire manufacturing sector. That's good news, obviously. However, the bad news is that in the very near future, the Canadian labour force will simply not have enough workers to fill the retail jobs available. As Mr. Kelly mentioned, not only is there a shortage of skills, there's a shortage of people and, in our industry as well, a shortage of services.
Let me just add that when I speak of services, I mean we have a lot of retailers now telling us right across the country, but specifically in Alberta and British Columbia, that not only can they not hire people for their stores, they can't find people to build their stores. They can't find the workers who in fact assist them in making sure they can grow their business and add employees to their complement. So it has been a challenge not only within their businesses as retail, but also because of the services that are lacking in the community as they try to grow and prosper.
You've received our submission both in English and in French, so I will not go into the details of all of the different areas.
Let me just add this morning, because I think it's important, that I'm sure as you sit through all of these hearings and these presentations you hear many groups say they need, they need, they need. We thought we would bring a different message this morning. We always need, obviously, but I think it's important to note that the employability initiative cannot work unless all stakeholders are involved. The responsibility is not only on government, but is also on industry and on communities across the country.
Let me give you a couple of examples before I end the presentation. We have had some successful initiatives with the United Way across Canada, specifically in Ontario and Quebec, with a program called the Gateway Cafe. It was funded also by HRSDC to offer sales associate training and job internships to youth at risk. This is an incredibly successful program, which is helping a lot of youth who are disenfranchised come into the workforce and become good workers.
We're also working with our members--HRSDC, the Quebec government, the Ontario government, and soon the British Columbia government--on English as a second language. Our members are working very hard at implementing those programs within their firms to take advantage of new Canadians' entering the workforce.
We're working with Goodwill, with four chapters across the country. Specifically, we are integrating persons with disabilities and social service recipients into the retail industry, not only as employees but as the future employees, meaning there is a lot of investment at this time in training those individuals.
Obviously our recommendation, very quickly, is that the government look at ways to encourage more women, aboriginals, and mature workers to join the workforce. Specifically in regards to mature workers, we talked about the federal rules for private pensions and the Canada Pension Plan, which encourages early retirement and discourages part-time work past the age of 65. Obviously, our submission goes into quite a bit of detail in that area.
We also talk about opportunities to bring disabled Canadians to the workforce. The retail industry has done an enormous amount of work in this area. We have worked in conjunction with the Government of Ontario, for example, and we will be working with other provinces in reducing physical barriers to employment for persons with disabilities.
Mr. Chairman, I will stop my remarks at this point. I'm sure there will be other question, and I'll be pleased to answer them in both English and French.
Thank you.