Thank you for your questions, Mr. Lemire.
With regard to the statements made last Monday by the Teamsters Canada representative, I don't know where he obtained this information. We aren't seeing this at all at Metro in terms of statistics. In Quebec, this certainly isn't the case. In our stores, 13% of employees earn minimum wage, not 50%. Obviously, the minimum wage is a subject that goes beyond the context of this discussion. It should be understood that a worthy career is possible in the food industry. First and foremost, at Metro, many of our management colleagues come from the stores. They stayed in the stores and built great careers.
There's a fundamental difference between full-time and part-time work. Full-time workers have pension and insurance plans. They make a good living. They can purchase a house and borrow money to buy a car. In short, they can lead a normal life. On the other hand, depending on the number of hours worked, obviously part-time employees may earn less. These jobs aren't precarious. Instead, they're student jobs, first jobs, transitional jobs and supplementary jobs. We must tell it like it is. Most part-time workers don't plan to pursue a career in the food industry. These jobs are transitional employment for them. Some of our employees have part-time jobs for longer periods, but these employees are far from the majority.
In terms of the order in council, the minimum wage falls under provincial jurisdiction. There are significant differences between the regions of Canada. I think that caution must be exercised in this area. We're in favour of a reasonable and predictable minimum wage and manageable increases that vary according to the cost of living. We've always said this. We're not in favour of sudden and large increases in the minimum wage. We've already seen this in one province. That said, in general, the minimum wage increases over the past few years have exceeded inflation, but they're manageable. We can absorb them without increasing prices for our customers. At the end of the day, we must remain competitive and offer our customers competitive prices.