#RetailMatters in Saskatchewan: Retail Council of Canada launches VoteRetail.ca to promote the industry's contribution to strong, vibrant economy in Saskatchewan

WINNIPEG, March 4, 2016 /CNW/ - Retail Council of Canada (RCC) has launched VoteRetail.ca, a dedicated website outlining key issues for Saskatchewan merchants that must be addressed with provincial candidates prior to the election on April 4. 

Retail Council of Canada's Director of Government Relations (Prairies), Lanny McInnes, states "1 in 12 Saskatchewan voters work in retail; the sector is a mainstay of the economy in the province. There are 4900 stores in Saskatchewan that employ over 64,500 people."

Retail Council of Canada asked the major parties to outline their retail policies and strategies; their submissions have been posted on VoteRetail.ca.  "The importance the retail sector has in every community in Saskatchewan has registered with Saskatchewan's political parties.  Their responses demonstrate the issues impacting our sector are important in this election," said McInnes.

Retail Council of Canada will advocate strongly with each party on behalf of the industry and will be meeting with candidates to raise the following key issues:

• Saskatchewan is the only province that restricts the ability for retailers to schedule workers to work two shifts in the same 24 hour period without paying overtime. The next government in Saskatchewan needs to put an end to this cumbersome practice and define the work day as a calendar day.
• As the largest private sector employer in Saskatchewan, the next government should provide the same incentives to retail as provided to other industries to invest in people, technology and e-commerce.
• To pre-empt competitive imbalances across municipalities, the provincial government should take on greater responsibility to fund investment in infrastructure.

To help get the message across, RCC is encouraging all retailers to contact their local candidates directly and stand up for retail in #SKElxn. The VoteRetail.ca website includes a downloadable letter that retailers and their employees can sent to candidates in their local ridings. There is also a helpful Election Toolkit to refer to when meeting candidates on their doorstep or approaching candidates directly, including background material about the size, scope and key issues impacting the retail industry.

Retail is Canada's largest employer with 2.2 million Canadians working in our industry. The sector annually generates payroll of $60 billion and $350 billion in sales (excluding vehicles and gasoline) as of 2014. Retail Council of Canada (RCC) members' represent more than two thirds of retail sales in the country. RCC is a not-for-profit industry-funded association and represents small, medium and large retail business in every community across the country. As the Voice of Canadian retailers we proudly represent more than 45,000 storefronts in all retail formats, including department, grocery, specialty, discount, independent retailers and online merchants. RetailCouncil.org   @RetailCouncil 

SOURCE Retail Council of Canada

Lanny McInnes, Director, Prairies, Retail Council of Canada, Toll-Free Tel: [phone], Email: [email protected], Twitter: @RCC_Lanny