Restaurants claim to be key to economic recovery

Canada’s food service sector says it is key to feeding the country’s recovery from the economic ravages of the pandemic. The non-profit association Restaurants Canada says the food service sector is a $93 billion industry which contributes four per cent to the country’s GDP. In normal times, it is said to employ 1.2 million people and serve about 22 million customers daily.

However, in the year since the start of the pandemic over 10,000 of Canada’s restaurants have closed and there are in excess of 319,000 fewer jobs in the food service industry than there were in February 2020. The sector employs a high proportion of woman, visible minorities and new Canadians, and it provides many young people with their first work experiences. In fact, 31 per cent of restaurant owners, operators and staff belong to a visible minority. Half of Canadian restaurants are run by newcomers.

A large proportion of servers are women, visible minorites and new Canadians. Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost in the food industry. (iStock)

Restaurants slower to recover

“It is vital that we are able to recover these lost jobs,” says Todd Barclay, President and CEO of Restaurants Canada. “While all other industries have recovered about 90 per cent or more of their pandemic job losses, at least 25 per cent of the food service workforce has still not returned to work in the restaurant sector.”

When the pandemic began many local authorities either shut down restaurants completely or limited their seating capacity. Later many were only allowed to over take out service. Restaurants Canada says owners have invested more than $750 million in adapting through staffing, training, sanitary installations and equipment to keep staff and customers safe. 

Restaurants still losing money

A February survey suggests that eight out of 10 restaurants are either losing money or barely scraping by. Owners says it could take a year to become profitable again while 67 per cent say they continue to operate at a loss. 

“Our sector has been hit hard, but restaurant operators are resourceful and resilient, and government efforts to help them thrive can go a long way,” says Barclay. “From tourism grants to tax credits, we want to encourage the government to think outside the box to encourage Canadians to spend more money in the economy, which will translate into additional government revenue through provincial taxes, income tax, and job creation in support of our collective economic recovery.”

Although several jurisdictions are loosening pandemic restrictions for restaurants, owners are concerned that as coronavirus variants spread in Canada, there may be a third wave of infection and restrictions will be increased. James Rilett, a vice-president with Restaurants Canada, told Canadian Press that every time there is a lockdown, the average restaurant loses about $30,000 and that could oblige some to shut down for good.