Restaurants Canada calling on Ontario to reopen indoor dining next week
Restaurants Canada is calling on the Ontario government to immediately provide the province’s foodservice industry with clear guidance for reopening indoor dining next week.
This, one day after Premier Doug Ford revealed that “positive news” regarding the province’s restrictions would be coming later this week. https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/ontario-premier-says-positive-news-coming-this-week-on-covid-19-restrictions-1.5744315
“Restaurants can’t simply open their doors at a moment’s notice,” said Restaurants Canada President and CEO Todd Barclay. “They need to order food and supplies, schedule staff and prepare menus.” Barclays explains, “With Ontario’s latest closure of indoor dining set to end on January 26, restaurant operators deserve to know by now if these latest restrictions will be completely lifted or if dining will continue to be restricted to the 50 per cent capacity limit imposed in December.”
Officials say a letter has been sent to Premier Doug Ford, renewing the industry’s call to meet with policymakers and public health officials to gain insights into decisions impacting foodservice operations. The letter also renewed calls for further support to help the province’s hard-hit foodservice businesses recover from the large amounts of debt that has been incurred due to restrictive public health measures.
They say further support is urgently needed to ensure the survival of Ontario’s restaurants and their workers.
According to a Restaurants Canada survey conducted last summer: 8 out of 10 independent restaurant operators have taken on debt due to the COVID-19 crisis.
- Nearly 75% said they'd taken on more than $50,000 in debt.
- 25% said they'd taken on between $100,000 and $500,000 in debt.
- Nearly half (43%) of those in debt said it will take more than 18 months for their business to recover.
“With restaurants across Ontario now taking on more and more debt due to the province’s latest restrictions, ensuring they will have enough cash flow to continue their operations is becoming increasingly critical,” said James Rilett, Restaurants Canada Vice President, Central Canada. “Current emergency aid from the provincial government only covers a small portion of losses and leaves out many hard-hit businesses altogether.” Rilett adds, “Our industry deserves sufficient compensation and a seat at the decision-making table to work with government on ways to stop the roller coaster of restaurant closures.”
Restaurants Canada is a national, not-for-profit association. Officials say before the start of the pandemic, Ontario’s foodservice sector was a $37 billion industry, directly employing more than 450,000 people, providing the province’s number one source of first jobs and serving more than 9 million customers every day.
They explain Ontario’s foodservice industry is still struggling to recover more than 50,000 jobs and at least $20 billion in lost revenue due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
Restaurants Canada is continuing to call for:
- A deferral of HST payments to help restaurants preserve cash flow.
- An increase in funding available through the Ontario COVID-19 Small Business Relief Grant program, as well as an expansion of the eligibility requirements — this program currently fails to ensure hard-hit restaurant operators with more than 100 staff across multiple locations will be able to access sufficient support to cover closing and reopening costs for each of their establishments.
- A re-imposition of Ontario’s moratorium on commercial tenant evictions, which expired on Dec. 31, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
Humanist group threatening to sue Vancouver over council prayers
The B.C. Humanist Association has threatened legal action against the City of Vancouver for allowing prayers at council, following a similar warning issued earlier this month to a smaller community on Vancouver Island.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.