Finance committee  It's been very stressful. You have to remember that from the day the pandemic was declared back in March, the food companies didn't shut down. Suddenly 7,000 food companies across the country became experts in epidemiology and how to keep workers safe from a pandemic. The cost of

Finance committee  I don't think I would be able to find one that would.

Finance committee  I can only speak to the prices that we are paid by the retailers, and I think what we have found is that there has been a flatlining of prices. In fact, some of our companies have said that retailers say to them not to even try to pass on a price increase, which obviously just pu

Finance committee  A bigger concern for us right now, one that I know most of you have been following, is that retailers have arbitrarily increased fees on food processors and suppliers. We're in a position where our costs have gone up almost a billion dollars. We can't pass any price increases on

Finance committee  Thank you and good afternoon. My name is Kathleen Sullivan, and I'm CEO of Food and Beverage Canada, an association representing Canada's food and beverage manufacturers. Food and beverage is the largest manufacturing sector in this country. It includes 7,000 companies. They em

Agriculture committee  Yes, thanks very much, and I will just echo exactly what you said. There's no doubt that the last eight weeks.... I talk to food companies every day and the commitment that the workers have made, not just to their companies but to Canadians, is really moving. As for what we need

Agriculture committee  Yes, there are three main weaknesses we've identified through the pandemic. We knew of them before, but they've been really magnified now. The first is, I think, a really profound lack of understanding of how Canada's food system works. We know that more and more consumers are

Agriculture committee  First and foremost, we outlined for the Prime Minister in a letter that the best way to approach the liquidity issues or cost crunch issues that Canadian food companies are facing is probably through the existing emergency programs that have been set up for COVID-19 to address th

Agriculture committee  Thanks, James. We have a huge problem across Canada's food manufacturing sector, and this is not going to be a short-term crisis. We are facing a new normal of extraordinary cost pressures that we have to address somehow, either by means of government support or through food pri

Agriculture committee  Thank you very much. I will be sharing my time with James Donaldson. Good afternoon, everybody. My name is Kathleen Sullivan. I am the CEO of Food and Beverage Canada. FBC is the national association representing Canada's food and beverage manufacturers. My members include the c

Agriculture committee  Hi there. Yes, I am.

Finance committee  You know, I do want to clarify this. The ministers are given very specific mandates. I believe we have a very strong force and very loyal public servants here in Ottawa and across the country who really focus on fulfilling the mandates their ministers have been given. I challenge

Finance committee  Thank you. Good morning. I'm Kathleen Sullivan, CEO of Food and Beverage Canada. I thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I'll try to keep my remarks brief; I know you'll want to get on to questioning all the witnesses. Food and Beverage Canada, or FBC, is a national i