Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  Good afternoon, everybody. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. First of all, I'd very much like to thank the committee for giving Mountain Equipment Co-op the opportunity to come and contribute to your inquiry. My name is Shona McGlashan, and I'm the chief governance officer

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  Yes, they do.

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  People can vote in-store or by mail-in ballot or electronically. People will be informed by e-mail, by signage in the stores, and on our web page.

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  But I would say that take-up on our election is relatively low.

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  If they send us their e-mail address, I'll let them know.

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  I do have that figure for you, if you will hold on one second. I don't know how many are not Canadian, but we have about 130,000 members located in the U.S., and about 277,000 located outside Canada.

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  That's an interesting question, and I'm afraid not one I know the answer to. So far it has not been a problem.

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  Yes, I will.

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  Absolutely.

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  It's an incredible number, yes.

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  It's a lifetime membership.

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  Yes. We don't have records of that, although people can apply—

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  For us to be aware that they were no longer alive, they would have to apply to have their share in the co-op put as part of their estate. So people can apply to get their capital out once they reach 75, or after they die.

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  If people go into the store and they want to buy a product, they need to buy a membership at that point, if they're not already members. That's how we get them.

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  I'm glad we had the products you needed.