We are stronger together and we need your help.
Today, I am asking our vibrant restaurant industry to come together and speak with one voice. If we do this, we can make great things happen. We are stronger together.
We need your help to urge the federal government to lower EI premiums. Send a letter to your Member of Parliament. It will take 2 minutes so please keep reading. If you’ve already sent a letter, we appreciate your efforts and support.
As you are well aware, our industry continues to struggle with high costs and in an effort to lift some of that strain, we are asking the federal government to reduce payroll taxes.
Simply reducing next year’s rate to $1.58 for employees and $2.21 for employers (per $100 of assessable payroll) will bring support to businesses on the brink. Lowering EI premiums is a small change that will make a big impact. The decision around the reduction to EI premiums is expected by mid-September. So, now is the time to drive this message to elected officials to show them every little bit helps.
Your local MP needs to hear from you – our industry’s business owners – that this change is needed.
We’re asking you to take a few moments to send this letter to your MP.
We’ve made it easy. Hit the link, enter your name and email address, then hit submit. We are extremely grateful for the hundreds of Restaurants Canada members who have participated so far.
New Measures for Temporary Foreign Workers
Last week, the federal government announced new measures that will impact our industry’s access to Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs). Although this segment only represents 3% of our workforce, it is critical for many operators. We support modifications to the program that enhance worker protections, but we anticipate that these changes will be challenging in certain areas, causing more harm than benefit, especially in regions with limited alternatives for addressing critical labour shortages, such as rural, tourism, and remote communities.
We are actively advocating on your behalf, engaging with the Prime Minister’s Office, several Cabinet Ministers, and other Members of Parliament to seek exemptions for these specific areas. We will provide further updates soon. Looking ahead, we have begun developing long-term labour solutions and are collaborating with the government to explore options for our industry. This includes a matching and training program for newcomers already in Canada to address the 72,000 job vacancies in our sector. As we formulate these policy solutions, it’s important to balance the industry’s needs with their potential impact on the overall perception of the sector.
For specifics on the change to the program, see our TFW FAQ.
With gratitude,
Kelly Higginson
