Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec continues to seek a solution to the Cari-All matter

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The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is issuing a clarification as regards its shareholding status and role in shopping-cart manufacturer Cari-All. The Caisse has a minority interest in Cari-All. It holds 35% of the company’s capital stock. The remainder is held by three other shareholders. The decision to relocate Cari-All’s Montréal production plant, made in September 2007, was postponed at the Caisse’s request. The Caisse then made experts and outside resources available to Cari-All to try and find an alternative to closing the plant. However, these experts confirmed the considerable and immutable difference of nearly 30% in production costs between the Montréal and North Carolina plants. This considerable difference in production costs, combined with the strong Canadian dollar, makes the closure of the Montréal East plant the only viable solution for Cari-All’s long-term survival. The closure was unanimously approved by the shareholders. The Caisse understands the disappointment of Cari-All’s Montréal employees and has obtained assurance that they will be treated fairly. The decision to close the plant was a hard one for the Caisse to accept and was made only after every possible alternative was explored. The Caisse has always been committed to the development of Québec businesses and as such, has organized a meeting with United Steelworkers representatives, the Solidarity Fund QFL and Investissement Québec to study the possibility of reopening the Montréal plant under new conditions. (See letter following the press release) Letter (PDF in French only) false false false