Good afternoon, Madam Chair and honourable members of the committee.
There is nothing more important to me than discussions about our people, and I thank you for the invitation to speak to you today. I've never appeared before Parliament before, so please set me straight if I get any of the protocols wrong.
I know we all agree that the real heroes are the Canadians who stepped up during this crisis, as my teammates did. They did so in the Canadian way with grace, confidence and excellence. We are truly blessed to live in such a great country.
Our company began as a meat delivery business founded in 1907 in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, by J.W. Sobey. J.W.'s focus was on supporting Canadian families, and that has been our goal ever since.
When COVID-19 hit, we doubled down on our commitment to ensure that Canadian families could count on us. I have never been more proud of our 127,000 teammates, franchisees and their teams. We put every resource we had into safety, sourcing personal protective equipment on our own for our teammates with no help. We were the first in North America to install thousands of protective plexiglass screens inside our stores. We also compensated our teammates who weren't able to work because of their personal circumstances, and we did so before government support programs began. For example, we compensated our teammates who had to quarantine because of travel or stay home to care for sick family members or for their children. All in all, we have invested tens of millions of dollars to protect our teammates and our customers.
In addition to our existing philanthropy, we also launched our community action fund during the peak of the pandemic, distributing millions of dollars to support local initiatives in your ridings across the country. Food banks, women's shelters, meal programs, children's breakfast programs, all of these vital community resources were supported by, and continue to be supported by, our stores. We see this type of community outreach as integral to the way we operate. We're a family retailer that plays an essential role in every community where we operate. That's 900 communities across Canada. Our teammates are a vital part of these programs.
At our Sobeys Belmont store in Edmonton, we started a food drive, “Heroes Against Hunger”, to help get food to school-aged children in need after the shutdown of their local breakfast and lunch programs. We started initiatives in Parry Sound and Moncton that donated thousands of dollars in gift cards to local food banks and supplies to help the Salvation Army in its time of need.
During the hardest months of the pandemic, we put in place a bonus program for our teammates. Our teammates were among a select group of Canadians going to work, because food is essential. Governments did so much for this country during this pandemic, but nothing for food workers. It was up to us to recognize these essential workers, these heroes, during the height of the pandemic. Through our hero pay bonus program, we distributed over $105 million in bonuses to our front-line teammates. We did this not because we were legislated to do so, but because it was the right thing to do.
It was a temporary program during the heat of the pandemic and it was communicated that way. We extended the bonus program several times. Even as almost every other retailer discontinued their bonus programs, we kept ours going. At the end of May, we shared with our teammates that we were extending the program to June 13 and would reassess the program at that time. We delivered on that promise, and at the same time we announced that we would provide our front-line and distribution centre teammates with a one-time bonus equal to two weeks of hero pay. We also announced that we would be launching a meaningful employee discount program to our teammates.
It is interesting that food retailers that did not pay a hero pay bonus or those who discontinued their programs early are not being assailed by you. I'm disappointed that Loblaws, Metro and Empire, three Canadian companies that continued their bonus programs longer than almost any other in the industry, are the only companies being invited to speak with you on this issue. Let's remember that in Canada our three major grocers compete against two of the largest American corporations in the world, one online and one omnichannel. I'm interested that they are not being called to this committee, as their programs ended long before ours.
I want to make it perfectly clear that we do not believe this pandemic has gone away. It has not. We must remain vigilant.
Due in large part to excellent and responsible responses from our provincial governments and public health authorities and the actions of Canadians who genuinely care about each other, our country is now controlling the virus as best it can. This has led these trusted provincial governments to start lifting much of the lockdown in an effort to open up the economy and get Canadians back to work and enjoying life as much as possible in what is now unfortunately our new normal.
We instituted hero pay when the government wisely went into lockdown. We ended hero pay when the lockdowns were eased.
We observed the economy, customer patterns and, not surprisingly, the behaviour of others in our industry. Of course, we watched what other retailers were doing. Every good business does the same. We did not collaborate or coordinate with our competitors. We never discussed this with our competitors. We would never do that. Let me be absolutely clear: We did not coordinate our decisions with other retailers.
In late May, we shared with our teammates that we were extending the program to June 13, and we delivered on that promise. The decision was our own, but let me tell you something else: Should this terrible virus rear its ugly head to the degree that provincial authorities in certain regions of a province go back to lockdown like we experienced in March and April, we will put hero pay back into our company stores in those regions or cities. That would be the right thing to do.
I’d also like to comment on the misconception that all grocery employees earn minimum wage. That’s just not the case at Empire. All of our full-time, front-line teammates earn above the minimum wage requirements set by the provinces. I’m not saying that retail is the highest-paying industry, but many of our teammates earn significantly above provincial minimum wage, including all of our distribution centre teammates and more than 60% of our part-time front-line teammates. On average, national salary, including benefits, is approximately $30 an hour for full-time teammates and $18 an hour for part-time.
The retail sector plays an important role in Canada. Our sector is the biggest employer in the country after the government. Many Canadians choose retail as their career. I am proud of the accomplishments and incredible talent we have in Canada, talent that is often leading the global industry in terms of innovation and customer service. The sector also plays an important role in helping students and others to gain meaningful experience and support their needs while in school or during the summer.
Health, safety and the strength of our company are of vital importance to all of our stakeholders: employees, suppliers, communities and shareholders. By the way, shareholders include pension funds and mutual funds widely held by a large number of Canadians—teachers, firefighters and the older couple next door.
This crisis has affirmed the essential role of our food supply chain, and we are proud of our 113-year tradition of supporting Canadian families and the Canadian economy.
Thank you.