A culture where people learn and grow!
We want the Maple Leaf workplace to be focused, innovative, action-packed and non-political, where great people get challenged to perform and grow more than they could anywhere else. As a result, we place a heavy emphasis on training and development including direct personal leadership, leading innovation, manufacturing excellence, sales excellence, Six Sigma and project leadership. In 2008, we invested nearly 5,200 person days of learning and development in our people. We are acutely aware that our performance must produce tangible results for shareholders, and have performance-based compensation for leaders that is tied to the S&P Food Index. Our employees are telling us this approach is working: this year's Maple Leaf Listens employee survey revealed an overall engagement score of 81% in the North American database, up signifi cantly from 2007 and exceeding the norm for blue chip companies in almost every measure of engagement, despite a year of some dramatic organizational and business changes.

Keeping our people safe
Safe plants are well run plants - no injury is acceptable. We have worked diligently to create a culture in the workplace where eliminating workplace injuries and keeping safe is embedded in everything we do. We track and communicate safety records across our 100+ facilities with the strong belief that transparency will drive better performance. 2008 marked our eighth consecutive year of continuous improvement in reportable injuries and an overall improvement of 18% across all Maple Leaf operations, an achievement that is among the best in industry and one that we are extremely proud of. While we take great pride in this achievement, we are constantly raising the bar and striving for excellence in Occupational Health & Safety. Every worker deserves a safe workplace and an expectation that they will return home at the end of each and every shift, without injury.