Empire Co., Ltd.

Grocery store employees who continued to work during the COVID-19 pandemic are “heroes'' and should be properly compensated, said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Friday.

Unions representing essential workers at some of Canada's major retailers are pushing back against the decision to eliminate wage premiums that were put in place to compensate employees for working during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Consumers continued to buy more hand sanitizer, toilet paper, canned goods and baking supplies in April than before the COVID-19 pandemic even as the mid-March shopping frenzy started to die down, according to Statistic Canada's latest data.Retail grocery store sales jumped 40% for the week ending March 21 compared to the same week last year, the agency said in a special report on how shopping patterns have changed since Canada stepped up its COVID-19 public health campaigns.The week prior, sales soared 46%.

Indigo Marketing Inc.

In its continued effort to cater to office crowds and commuters,Longo’s opened its doors Monday to a “small-scale, convenience-based grocery store” it’s calling Pronto Eats.Located in Toronto’s underground PATH system at Hudson’s Bay Centre at Yonge and Bloor just steps away from the subway, the store will offer ready-to-eat and semi-prepared meal options as well as roasted coffee and handcrafted espresso-based beverages.“For those who work inside or nearby, the PATH is a place where time, quality, and convenience intersect, and this is at the core of what Pronto Eats plans to deliver,” said Longo’s spokesperson Rosanne Longo in a press release announcing the store opening.Grocery Gateway same-day pickup will be available at the store, and customers can also pick and pay for items through the Ritual food-ordering app.

Shoppers at Sobeys Inc.