The restaurants in Canada are demanding the federal government to support them so that they can regain over 400,000 jobs lost in food service because of the pandemic.
The April Labour Force Survey from Statistics Canada reports that more than 70% of the 503,000 jobs lost by the economy are from the restaurant industry. It is predicted that this number will increase because the restrictions and closures continue. The owners said that their industry was the one affected first and hardest. Since the pandemic will continue to affect their business, it will take longer for them to recover.
What the federal government has done is to extend the rent support and federal wage. If needed, they said that it could be extended further. Restaurants are key to the recovery of the economy and employment, but this can only be possible if they get through the pandemic. If the support is stopped too soon, it will be hard to obtain the capital needed to transition from surviving to recovering.
In the latest survey information of Restaurants Canada, 80% of the food business have barely operated throughout the pandemic. 45% of these businesses lose money consistently for more than a year. If the restaurants have to continue suffering from less support, they might have no choice but to close down their businesses. Though small businesses can apply for financial aid, reports say that it takes weeks to get a response from their application.
Many people have lost their jobs, so the foodservice industry wants to employ many people again soon. However, in the current situation food services are in, this will be more challenging.
