Jim Pattison spoke with BNN Bloomberg about his optimism for the economy despite the COVID-19 pandemic. (BNN Bloomberg)

By paNOW Staff

COVID-19

‘People are still going to eat,’ Jim Pattison buoyant despite COVID-19 pandemic

Mar 21, 2020 | 12:58 PM

Recession? What recession?

One of Canada’s leading entrepreneurs remains optimistic regarding the longer-term economic fallout from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and is rejecting the notion the nation is in a recession right now.

Jim Pattison, the chairman and CEO of Jim Pattison Group, which is the country’s second-largest private company, was interviewed by BNN Bloomberg Thursday.

“This is all going to get resolved. People are still going to eat,” he told BNN Bloomberg’s Jon Erlichman.

He was asked whether he thought Canada is in a recession right now.

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“Not at all,” Pattison responded. “We have common sense right now that tells us to be very careful with what we do and moving around the country with different people.”

With tumbling oil prices, bank warnings about a serious economic downturn, and the need for the federal government to deliver an $82 billion aid package, there appears every indication of a recession in the months to come. However, Pattison remained buoyant.

“It’s hit us everywhere as you’d expect,” he said. “The question is: how long until we get through it. We’re optimistic,” he said.

The interview can be found here.

The Pattison Group’s companies include the Save-On-Foods grocery chain across Western Canada, auto dealerships, outdoor marketing, and the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, among others.

“We’re still selling cars every day, not as many as we were before,” he added. “We’re selling everything except in the places we’ve shut down, like Ripley’s Believe It or Not.

“Overall, we are down. But we’re optimistic this thing will get behind us in a reasonable period.”

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panews@jpbg.ca