Restaurants Canada statement on federal government’s announcement of new cuts to immigration targets

Restaurants Canada is disappointed by yesterday’s announcement by the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of further cuts to Canada’s immigration targets. This follows months of cuts to different streams of the immigration system made rapidly and with no consideration for Canada’s foodservice industry, which continues to face persistent labour shortages. There are currently 78,000 vacant jobs across the industry.

 Canada’s restaurant and foodservice industry is the fourth largest employer nationally, representing 1.2 million workers, and the number one source of first-time jobs for Canadians. Canadians make 23 million trips to a restaurant every day.

While government is focused on future immigration targets, they remain silent on the current unemployment rates among newcomers already in Canada. For more than a year, Restaurants Canada has been advocating for a matching and training program to connect the approximately 1 million unemployed newcomers holding open work permits with jobs in industries like foodservice, particularly in regions outside the major metropolitan centers. We are also asking the government to work with the foodservice industry on strategies to attract more Canadian workers, especially youth.

Foodservice operators are committed to creating and maintaining strong and competitive jobs. Our industry has seen the second largest average hourly wage increase of any sector since 2022, while a staggering 53% of restaurant companies are currently operating at a loss or just breaking even. The federal government can lower the cost of doing business and put more money in workers’ pockets by reducing payroll taxes by 2%. This would allow operators to continue investing in their workforce. Again, government is silent on initiatives to help with affordability challenges.

These cuts to our immigration levels will inevitably impact the quality and cost of the day-to-day lives of Canadians. We need to align Canada’s labour force with its current and future needs. Without this alignment, reductions to immigration levels may cost us Canadian jobs and lead to more business closures in the months to come.

– Kelly Higginson, President & CEO of Restaurants Canada.

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