Thank you, Mr. Chair, and good afternoon, members of the committee.
First and foremost, I really want to thank you for the opportunity to testify on the state of Canada's supply chains. My name is John Bayliss, and I'm chief transformation officer at Walmart Canada. With me today is my colleague Francis Lalonde, VP of transportation.
At Walmart Canada, one of the country's largest retailers, Francis and I are responsible for overseeing our supply chain network and transportation strategies. As you know, we operate coast to coast to coast, employing over 100,000 associates across Canada.
It's our job to ensure supply chains function efficiently so that Canadians can save money, live better and have access to the products they want and, most importantly, when they need them. As the world's largest integrated supply chain, that responsibility has never been more apparent than in these past two years.
It's fair to say that world events, changing customer expectations and new growth opportunities have necessitated a major investment in our Canadian supply chain. That's why, in the summer of 2020, only three months after the start of the pandemic, we committed over $3.5 billion into our store and supply chain infrastructure, making flagship investments across the country in Surrey, Calgary, Cornwall, Vaughan and Moncton.
As a proud Canadian, I'm very proud that this investment is our most ambitious investment program since our arrival in Canada over 25 years ago.
Walmart is on a journey to become also a regenerative company. That means we're aiming to use our size and scale to make a positive impact. Given the impact of supply chains on the environment, we see a sustainable supply chain as foundational to our long-term competitiveness, as well as a catalyst for clean growth and long-term strategic advantage.
As part of this, we're also committed to becoming carbon neutral globally, without the use of offsets, by 2040. Right here in Canada, we're very proud that we've committed to a mission to deliver on our promise to be 100% alternatively powered in our fleet by 2028.
Given our experience in global and domestic infrastructure, we're grateful for this opportunity to address the committee today and share recommendations on how to improve the resiliency and efficiency of Canada's supply chains.
I will turn it over to Francis Lalonde, who will go into further detail.