Target Canada employees get representation

FRANCINE KOPUN Employees of Target Canada were granted official representation by an Ontario Superior Court on Wednesday, but pharmacists will have to wait until next week to learn whether their requests for funding and more time to close their drugstores will be allowed.

Justice Geoffrey Morawetz approved a motion appointing seven Target employees in different departments and provinces to represent the 17,600 people who were employed by Target Canada when it filed for creditor protection on Jan. 15.

More than 8,000 of the employees are in Ontario, according to a court document.

The parent company, Target Corp., set up a $90-million employee fund to provide severance for those who qualify.

All 133 Target Canada stores are being liquidated.

The final deadline for stores closing is May 15, although many stores are expected to be closed well in advance of that date.

More than 50 employees came forward to act as representatives, according to Sue Philpott, of Koskie Minsky LLP, the firm appointed to represent employees in the insolvency proceedings.

The Target employee representatives include Frederick Payette, a store facilities technician in Edmonton; Sylvie Gautier, a price accuracy team leader in Candiac, Que.; Jennifer Lindsay, a guest service team leader at the Cloverdale Mall store in Etobicoke; Catherine Bédard, an operations manager at the head office in Mississauga; Michael O’Neil, an executive team leader at the store in Dartmouth, N.S.; Alyssa Morin, a human resources team member at the Maple Ridge store in B.C. and Joshua Gordon, an executive team leader for human resources at the Centerpoint Mall store in North York.

The representatives can advocate on behalf of Target employees, instruct counsel and address the court, creating a unified voice for employees, according to court documents.

An opting-out process for employees who do not wish to be represented will be established, according to Philpott.

In court on Wednesday, landlords received approval to immediately begin the property sales process, supervised by the court-appointed monitor.

The deadline for closing deals is June 30.

Some of the property owners for retail space leased by Target include RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust and Primaris, a division of H&R Real Estate Investment Trust.

The owners of One York Street Inc., where Target was to be the anchor tenant, can still bring a motion before the court seeking a declaration that it be removed from the sales process — the building is still under construction.

Pharmacists will have to wait until next week to learn whether their requests will be met.

Pharmacists operated as franchisees within Target stores, but when promised traffic and sales failed to materialize, Target subsidized the pharmacists to keep them in business — as much as $1.6 million a quarter.

The Pharmacy Franchisee Association of Canada, which claims to represent more than 80 Target pharmacists, wants to see subsidies reinstated and would like pharmacists to be given more time to wind down operations.

A lawyer representing suppliers is seeking an inventory figure for goods on Dec. 15 and Jan. 15, respectively.

Employee representatives can address court on behalf of fellow Target Canada workers