Foreign Affairs committee  I was going to throw that question to Bob, but I think Bob would want me to take that. It is a very interesting question and I wish we had more time. I can see that we have very little. It's very challenging for Canadian retailers, specifically because we are dealing in a global environment.

Foreign Affairs committee  There's no tracking or list that exists, Mr. Garneau, telling you that the following 30 companies are in fact sourcing from Bangladesh. In fact, that is sometimes a bit more difficult unless the country is identified on the label of the product, and we go from one store to another.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Garneau. We, in fact, interact with them very closely on CSR practices; and, as Mr. Chant mentioned, we interact even more aggressively with all of our merchants, especially those we knew were importing garments from Bangladesh, following the Rana Plaza disaster.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. My name is Diane Brisebois. I am the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Retail Council of Canada. Mr. Chair and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to speak again this year, as we did in May of last year. As many of you know, RCC is a not-for-profit industry association representing more than 45,000 storefronts across Canada.

Foreign Affairs committee  Let me jump in. I think it's a great idea to bring the different manufacturers, retailers, and the different industries together to share best practices and to assist in forming what we would call guidelines or a framework to educate companies in Canada that are both operating in Canada and around the world.

Foreign Affairs committee  Yes, we do in fact have a disagreement. We don't believe that we should be adding tariffs. In fact, we believe that would make the work we are now initiating more difficult and it would be a burden on the workers in Bangladesh. The fact that they can, in fact, export their products without tariffs in Canada is allowing us to be more active in the country and ensuring we can help with worker safety as well as building safety.

Foreign Affairs committee  Hello. Thank you. I'd like to comment. I don't think anyone would deny that the Gildan recommendations are sound. I think it's important, though, to note, as you mentioned, that we're looking at a completely separate set of circumstances. In Gildan's case, as the gentleman mentioned, they acquired an asset in Bangladesh.

Foreign Affairs committee  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.

Finance committee  —annually if they were to eliminate those tariffs. However, if you calculate that it's $20 billion in cross-border shopping, no one needs to do the math to consider how much tax revenue we're losing. So to ensure that there's a level playing field and that retailers can be competitive, I think at the end of the day it will benefit both government and the economy.

Finance committee  There's a fantastic report that we'll make sure we circulate. It was prepared by the task force on payments, and it looks at the future of the digital economies, specifically from a payments perspective. There are different elements. One of them is what we discussed earlier, the technology that we're announcing online and that we're seeing in some of the stores or gas stations.

Finance committee  Yes, thank you. In our submission to the Department of Finance in October, we have in fact identified key areas, specific products, where we would see an elimination or a phase-out. Those three categories have been identified as being dealt with immediately because of the competitive nature of the product, but we've suggested that the others, which is a huge range of tariffs, as you know, be eliminated over a period of time, keeping in mind, Mr.

Finance committee  I would say that generally restaurants and retailers embrace those new technologies. We're seeing PayPal play a huge role, especially with smaller retailers, because they bring all of the different transactions together and provide one cost. We're seeing that most people now, when they go to movies, will “tap and go” to pay or they'll pay online.

Finance committee  It is indeed an issue. Indirectly in response to Monsieur Caron's question, the issue here is not the protection of farmers; the issue is that this year alone consumers will spend between $15 billion and $20 billion in cross-border shopping. You only need to go to Bellingham, just across from the B.C. border, and go to a certain retail store—I will not name it.

Finance committee  In fact, chicken breast here is $6.92. In that store in the U.S., it's $3. I can tell you, sir, that impacts your budget if you have a family with young children. If you look at milk, it's the same: 92¢ to $2.40. Those are everyday items, which is why that's the product we've seen most purchased.

Finance committee  Maybe because I'm obsessed with this, I've spent quite a bit of time at Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia borders. I've followed people in malls and asked them to show me what they've purchased and how often they do it. Sir, I was shocked.