Addressing Misinformation and Advocating for Fairness in the Restaurant Industry
Restaurants have been facing a tough period due to various factors, including immigration issues, difficulties with the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program, the effects of the rail strike, and the everyday challenges of operating a restaurant in Canada. All these factors affect you as operators. To support you during these challenging times, we are addressing these critical issues through our advocacy and public affairs efforts, alongside the final phase of our EI campaign, “Lift the Strain on Small Business.”
As we head into the fall sessions, our advocacy efforts are more crucial than ever, and elevating your voice remains a critical part of our advocacy work. Please click here to fill out our latest Restaurant Outlook Survey by this Friday (August 30th) to have your voice heard! Those who complete the survey will receive a free, detailed report of the findings from this survey, along with our latest foodservice sales forecast. And remember to send your letter to your MP to support our Lift the Strain on Small Business campaign.
Recently, our industry has faced significant media scrutiny regarding the TFW Program. With reports highlighting the program’s growing use in our sector since 2019 and concerns about potential exploitation, the narrative has often painted a one-sided picture. Additionally, with rising youth unemployment, there’s a growing perception that TFWs are to blame, further fueled by a UN report criticizing the program.
It’s important to note that TFWs make up only three per cent of our workforce—a small increase from one per cent in 2019. Despite this, our industry has become a target. We are actively working to counter these portrayals and protect our reputation as a fair and responsible employer.
In response to growing misinformation, we have actively collaborated with the office of Minister Boissonnault, Minister of Employment and Workforce Development, and engaged in numerous media interviews. I have also published an article on LinkedIn to clarify how our industry uses the TFW Program and to provide additional context.
This situation has a deeply human aspect not fully captured within the recent reports. To showcase the positive influence of the industry, we’ve created a series of member profiles. Our feature on the team behind Menthe et Couscous in Montreal highlights how immigration benefits the industry, communities and the country. Please share it on your social media channels.
Over the past year we have been to Ottawa numerous times to advocate for stability in the TFW program and to present our industry’s successes with the program. So far, Minister Boissonnault appears to be listening to our concerns and has resisted the pressure to take extreme measures. He has, however, started making some smaller yet impactful changes to the TFW program such as the recent freeze announced in Montreal, and it is clear the federal government is under immense pressure to turn off the tap of TFWs. In a meeting with the Minister on August 6th, he made it clear that our industry’s reliance on the program needs to change, and fast.
Please note, our assessment is that the federal government does not have any issue with TFWs being used by our industry in areas where there is low unemployment or in seasonal (Tourism) operations without an adequate supply of labour. Their concern is TFWs being used in urban areas and areas with high unemployment rates.
We know this is challenging news for many operators and, while the vacancies in our industry have started to decline from the high point of over 100,000 job vacancies 18 months ago, we currently have just over 70,000 vacancies.
We have been working to educate the industry about other immigration streams that provide better options. Restaurants Canada created a Recruiting International Workers toolkit based on the good work of Amy Nhan, Director, International Recruitment at Recipe Unlimited that outlines the various streams of immigration and how to access those pools of labour. You can access the toolkit here and distribute as you feel appropriate.
In addition, we are lobbying for a three-year, government-funded hospitality and tourism job campaign to attract youth and young adults to our industry; however, Restaurants Canada’s largest lobbying effort has been for a government-funded matching and training program. This program would provide our industry with enhanced access to the more than one million unemployed newcomers currently in Canada. Our ask is based on similar federal programs that have been successful in the past. This program does not just provide a “body” for a restaurant, it provides support to the employer to help train and integrate individuals into the operation with services including on-site language training. In addition, such programs enable us to target areas in the country with the greatest need. We are optimistic that something will materialize in the coming months.
As one of our strategic priorities, improving the perception of our industry away from low wage, low skilled and transient work, and toward recognition as a best-in-class employer is critical to our advocacy and the stability of the industry. It is clear that moving away from the TFW program for a variety of reasons, except in the above-mentioned situations, is necessary. We are concerned about the impact on our industry’s reputation and that, if nothing changes, we could be heading toward something similar to the 2014 ban on our industry’s use of the TFW program.
As a leader in our industry, we respectfully ask for your support.
September is just a few days away, and the decision around the reducing EI premiums, which will benefit your bottom line, is expected mid-month. Again, we stress the importance of taking a few minutes in the final days of our campaign push to send a letter to your MP. If you’ve already done so, thank you!
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS & PUBLIC AFFAIRS UPDATE
From Richard Alexander | Executive Vice-President, Government Relations & Public Affairs
The Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program for Restaurants is Under Threat
Many of you may recall back in April of 2014, when, following a tremendous public outcry against the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program, then Employment Minister Jason Kenney acted by banning restaurants from accessing the program. It gave our industry a black eye and caused labour challenges for many operators.
Fast forward to this August, and it appears that public sentiment is moving in the same direction. Support for immigration in general has fallen to its lowest level since the 90s and the TFW program is coming under intense public scrutiny. Over the past few weeks, Restaurants Canada has been issuing statements and answering media inquiries on the utilization of this stream by our industry. Media coverage has not been good. Even though only three per cent of our labour force is made up of TFWs, our industry has become a target and media reports are painting our industry in a poor light.
On August 19th, Ottawa approved Quebec’s request to pause the low-wage streams (those used by restaurants) of the TFW program in the Montreal area. There were several industries exempted from the pause, but the restaurant industry was not one of them.
Where things are right now
Although government has indicated that, at the moment, they are not as concerned with TFWs in seasonal areas and regions with low unemployment, given the public pressure, there is a real risk that our industry could lose access to the program all together.
We are “playing ball” with government on this issue and advocating for other streams to meet the demand for labour in our industry. Specifically, we have been asking for a federally funded matching and training program. These discussions have been going well.
The type of program we are asking for has been run by the federal government several times in several variations and under names such as “Ready to Work” and “Destination Employment”. Such a program would be a much better match for our industry’s labour needs. Third party evaluations of these programs show that they greatly increase employee retention and success.
We have met with ministers at both the provincial and federal levels and the response has been positive.
We are continuing to advocate leading up to Minister Boissonnault’s recently announced fall workforce summit.
Capital Gains Tax Changes
Together with other national associations, Restaurants Canada has been advocating for modifications to the federal government’s recent changes to the Capital Gains Tax.
On August 12th, the federal government announced new details on the Canadian Entrepreneurs’ Incentive (CEI) that they claim will offset some of the negative impact of the increases in the capital gains inclusion rate.
Unfortunately, our main ask of including the restaurant industry in the CEI was rejected. The restaurant industry, along with many other sectors, remains excluded from this program.
Restaurants Canada, together with our national partners, will continue to push Ottawa to expand the scope of the CEI to include our industry.
SUSTAINABILITY UPDATE
From Jillian Rodak | Vice President, Sustainability
Jillian is away on holiday this week.
FEDERAL UPDATE
From Maximilien Roy | Vice-President, Federal & Québec
Max is away on holiday this week.
CENTRAL CANADA UPDATE
From Kris Barnier | Vice President, Central Canada and the North
Manitoba: Provincial Action Campaign – Send your electronic postcard to Premier Kinew and your MLA Today!
Working closely with MRFA, we’ve been working hard to give voice to our Manitoba members and to build pressure to drive the provincial government to act on your priorities.
We have engaged with the government to help them understand how rising crime rates and costs are threatening your business, employees, and customers.
That is why we are asking you to click here to send a pre-programmed, electronic postcard to Premier Kinew and your MLA calling on them to help the province’s restaurants and bars by acting on three priorities:
- Expand the Manitoba Security Rebate Program: Increase overall program funding and allow restaurants and bars to claim up to $2,000 in repairs due to crime, and an additional $1,000 to help secure your businesses.
- Employee Training Grant Program: Pilot a program that will offer funding to help restaurants and bars attract and train employees.
- Liquor Pricing Discounts: Formally consult with the industry on lowering the prices restaurants and bars pay for alcohol.
Manitoba: Key Update on Crime Measures
The provincial government made two recent announcements targeting crime prevention.
First, while the amount per recipient remains at $300, overall funding for the Security Rebate program has grown to $2M. While we are pleased to see funding grow, we remain focused on getting a much larger benefit per business.
Second, the Province announced funding for a program that will utilize electronic monitoring devices to track individuals released on bail.
Ontario: Meetings with Federal MPs
I recently had the opportunity to meet with Vaughan-Woodbridge MP Francisco Sorbara to talk about the challenges facing our sector and how lowering EI premiums could bring much-needed relief for our sector. I am looking forward to other upcoming discussions with additional MPs.
Ontario: Cabinet Shuffle
Premier Ford was forced to shuffle his cabinet recently after the surprise resignation of his education minister. The shuffle will have little impact on our key relationships. Jill Dunlop has moved from Colleges and Universities to Education. She has been replaced by Nolan Quin, who was serving as Associate Minister of Forestry. Now standing at 37 members, the Premier welcomed Graham McGregor as his new Associate Minister responsible for auto theft and bail reform and Kevin Holland as his new Associate Minister for Forestry.
ATLANTIC UPDATE
From Jordi Morgan | Vice-President, Atlantic Canada
Atlantic: Meetings with Key MPs on EI Premium Reduction and Other Industry Asks
Restaurants Canada is continuing to meet with Members of Parliament across the region to press the federal government to reduce EI premiums from $1.66 per $100 dollars of payroll to $1.58. I met with Dartmouth-Cole Harbour MP Darren Fisher as part of our campaign to ensure MPs listen and understand why this is an important initiative.
Earlier in the week, I met with the policy team from the Ministry of Agriculture and Agri-food to discuss the EI proposal and other issues including the development of a job matching program for newcomers with experience in the foodservice industry.
I have also been working with the Immigrant Settlement Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS) and Nova Scotia Works to coordinate communications with restaurant operators looking for talent for their restaurants. Both ISANS and NS Works have databases to find employees with foodservice skill sets across the province. We will be issuing more details about access to both ISANS and Nova Scotia Works employment navigators who can help you find workers in the weeks ahead.
Raise the Bar Report Update
Work continues on the forthcoming Raise the Bar report which will examine and evaluate the various beverage alcohol regulators and retailers across the country. As part of the ongoing consultations on this biennial report, I recently met with Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation CEO Greg Hughes and Jillian Regan, Director of Service Excellence & Wholesale Operations, to discuss options around lower wholesale prices and improving the beverage alcohol regulatory environment for restaurant operators in Nova Scotia. This is the latest in a series of meetings across Atlantic Canada to identify and encourage best practices in beverage alcohol regulation and sales.
Atlantic: Restaurants Canada Atlantic Engagement Session a Success
Last week, Restaurants Canada members and other hospitality and foodservice associations participated from across the region in the most recent Restaurants Canada Atlantic Engagement Session. Operators and association leaders from all four Atlantic Provinces exchanged ideas and offered their thoughts on our Government Relations team’s advocacy priorities.
The next session will be held in November. If you are interested in participating in our engagement sessions, please contact me at JMorgan@restaurantscanada.org.
WESTERN UPDATE
From Mark von Schellwitz | Vice-President, Western Canada
Mark is away on holiday this week.
If you are looking for new ways to increase your margins and streamline operations, the Maximizing Profitability for Restaurants and Suppliers: Strategies for Efficiency and Growth webinar is now available on demand. Presented by Notch Financial in partnership with Restaurants Canada, the insights contained within focus on profit boosting strategies for restaurants, distributors, and suppliers. You can check it out here.
Wishing you a strong finish to the summer and a fresh outlook filled with success for the upcoming season,
Kelly Higginson
