Galen Weston
Chairman & CEO

Okay. Good morning. Good morning, and welcome to the Annual General Meetings of Shareholders for both George Weston Limited and Loblaw Companies Limited. I'm Galen Weston, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of George Weston and Chairman of Loblaw. And thank you for joining us here at Massey Hall, a Canadian cultural landmark that was first opened in 1894, which for those of you who have a good memory for dates was only 12 years after the founding of George Weston Limited in 1882.

It's wonderful to see this historical space revitalized after several years of renovations. And I hope you'll take the opportunity to explore this unique venue following today's meeting. So during the hybrid meeting, we look forward to engaging with shareholders of both companies. Those of you who gather here in person and through our virtual platform.

Joining me on stage, we have Richard Dufresne, President and Chief Financial Officer of George Weston and Chief Financial Officer of Loblaw; Per Bank, President and Chief Executive Officer of Loblaw; Nick Henn, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary of George Weston; and Andrew Bunston, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary of Loblaw.

By the way, in case you didn't pick up on this, they switched places from last year because they've done a little role swap, which is very exciting for me and for both of them. Okay. We're honored to welcome Director nominees of George Weston and Loblaw, trust and trustees of Choice Properties, representatives of the auditors and members of the senior management team from across the Weston Group.