To our Valued Teammates,

This challenging crisis continues to test our strength. I am filled with pride every day as you continue to rise to the occasion with great courage, resilience and –above all –teamwork.

Our business has adapted to so many changes with unwavering dedication to the safety of our communities. As this has happened, we’ve been able to reflect on where we are in this crisis and what it means to be an essential service. Canada needs us.

We’ve all had to make sacrifices out of necessity and safety –like postponing some of life’s pleasures such as birthday celebrations or sports pursuits or staying apart from family members. While these short-term adjustments are intended to help everyone and allow us to focus on doing what’s right, we look forward to returning to more normal ways of life and business down the road. And when provinces across the country slowly start to open back up again, we will continue to do what is needed to keep our stores safe for our teammates and our customers.

We realize this has not been easy. Our frontline teammates are serving Canadian families during a time of great anxiety. Our distribution centres have adapted to 24/7 delivery. Our backstage teams are doing absolutely everything they can to put our stores and customers first.

And while we’ve been intensely focused on our stores, we have not forgotten about our communities. Our Community Action Fund is pitching in to help Canadians in need by supporting food banks and other much-needed causes across the country. Teammates are painting beautiful messages of hope on our store windows and display cases. These are simple, powerful reminders that we’re all in this together. They keep community morale high.

The way you’ve pulled together has made our company stand above the rest through the toughest days. As we look to brighter days ahead, we do so knowing we have the strongest team in Canada. Thank you!

If there is anything this crisis has taught us, it’s that when we stand together nothing will knock this team down. Early on, I was inspired by a quote from one of our teammates, “tough times don’t last, tough teams do.” This is our mantra.

I’m so humbled to be on your team. Let’s keep going. Canada needs us.

Sincerely,

Michael Medline

President & CEO