New Federal Assistance Will Help Restaurants Survive COVID-19

Restaurants Canada commends the federal government for committing to help businesses survive the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic with more than $600M in new funding

Recent commitments are a direct response to key Restaurants Canada’ recommendations for renewed support for the struggling foodservice sector as a direct result of COVID-19.

“Many of the measures announced today respond to our recommendations to help Canada’s vital foodservice sector pull through these extraordinarily challenging times,” said Restaurants Canada President and CEO Todd Barclay. “We appreciate the federal government’s continued recognition of the unique impacts that COVID-19 have had on restaurants and how integral they are to the economic recovery of communities across the country.”

“Our foodservice and hospitality sector continues to be hardest hit from COVID-19”

 

“The vast majority of our members have been able to remain operational and continue contributing to their communities, largely thanks to measures the federal government has introduced since the start of the crisis,” said David Lefebvre, Restaurants Canada Vice President, Federal and Quebec. “We look forward to learning more details about the commitments unveiled today and continue building on the government’s efforts to address the ongoing needs of our industry.”

Restaurants Canada continues to recommend support for restaurants in the following key areas:

Assistance with labour costs, rising debt and cash flow

Red tape reduction for small and medium sized businesses

Targeted foodservice sector support

Without continued and additional support, Restaurants Canada estimates that 40 per cent of independent restaurants might not survive beyond March 2021, on top of the roughly 10 per cent of establishments that have already permanently closed over the first six months of the pandemic.