The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses, has called on the federal government to ensure that the drive to cut nitrogen fertilizer emissions by 30 per cent remains voluntary for Canadian agri-businesses. The government is currently conducting consultations on its plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from […]
Hospitality and foodservice industry associations have criticized the federal Budget 2022 published on April 7, with Restaurants Canada saying that it leaves restaurants “hungry for more” by failing to address key issues. The association said that while it welcomes a number of commitments made by the federal government, failing to respond to calls for extended […]
Updated January 10, 2021 Restaurant owners and staff would be forgiven for feeling transported back to 2020 in the early days of 2022, as indoor dining shuts down again in some areas in response to the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Quebec blinked first, and Ontario soon followed. The closures are an attempt to stifle the […]
The Canadian government introduced a new pandemic aid bill on November 24 that would maintain some financial supports for businesses and workers until at least the spring of 2022. Bill C-2, if passed, would include providing wage and rent subsidies through the Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program and the Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program. The Tourism and Hospitality […]
The federal government is extending its existing wage and rent subsidies until late October in a move that should boost the recovery prospects of small businesses and restaurants. The Government of Canada announced on July 30 that supports including the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS), and Lockdown Support will be […]
It’s been a long, hard road, but Ontario indoor dining is finally back on the menu. The province moved to Step 3 of its reopening plan on July 16, five days earlier than previously scheduled. That has seen indoor dining in the province open up again for the first time since Easter weekend at the […]
Ontario is shutting down all indoor and outdoor dining for a minimum of 28 days in response to rising COVID-19 cases. The province’s self-styled “emergency brake” response includes prohibiting all Ontario dining indoors and on patios, just weeks after many establishments had been allowed to re-open for dining and open patios. Takeout, delivery, and drive-thru […]
Nearly half of small business owners report they have suffered from mental health issues as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
