We are sharing our top policy asks with all federal parties through the media, letters and direct meetings. Those include:
U.S. tariffs and Canada’s counter tariffs are an important concern for the foodservice industry. We are sharing our tariff recommendations and exemption asks with all federal parties, focusing on obtaining relief for the essential items that are crucial to foodservice operators and preserving the relationship between employers and employees through wage subsidies in the event of major labour market disruptions.
With more than 1,500 proposed tariffs directly affecting the industry, we are targeting 39 essential items that need exemption, less than 3% of tariffs that impact our industry. We want to emphasize to the government that although these tariffs are intended to pressure U.S. producers, they are raising costs for Canadian businesses. For more detailed information on this matter, please refer to our Tariffs FAQ page where you can access various tools and updates on the topic.
Restaurants Canada is urging the government for the permanent removal of GST/HST on restaurant food and alcohol, a policy change that would have a noteworthy impact on our industry. GST/HST increases costs for consumers, provides a competitive edge to our primary competitors—grocery stores—and places an additional financial burden on operators.
Eliminating the GST/HST on prepared food would allow restaurants to lower prices, making dining out more affordable and accessible for everyone across the country. It would also make things fairer and create equal opportunities for restaurants in comparison to other industries such as grocery that don’t have to pay these taxes.
We are keeping a close eye on what the major federal partiers are promising and how it will impact the restaurant sector. We will continue updating each party’s electoral promises relevant to our industry as their platforms are revealed, so stay tuned!
