'Handed a death sentence': Canadian restaurants decry pending end to federal subsidies that have kept them afloat
At Lazy Daisy’s Café in Toronto's Little India neighbourhood, the cappuccino machine is still whirring and the biscuits are being buttered—but 20 months into the pandemic, it hasn’t been easy to keep the kitchen running.
“We’ve been treading water,” owner Dawn Chapman said Friday. “I’ve been trying to keep my staff paid, I’ve been trying to make sure all our suppliers are paid, and just trying to push through to get through to the other side.”
The federal emergency wage and rent subsidies have been the restaurant’s saving grace, said Chapman, and even with the financial assistance they’ve barely been able to break even.
“I spoke to my accountant the other day and I said ‘where would I be if we didn’t have the subsidies?’ and she said, ‘you’re in the red.’ So I said ‘well, what will I do when the subsidies end?’”
Chapman will face that reality this weekend, when the Canada Emergency Wage and Rent subsidy programs expire. Restaurants will be able to apply for financial assistance from the incoming Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program, but to qualify will need to demonstrate an average monthly revenue loss of at least 40 per cent for the first 13 qualifying periods of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and a revenue loss of the same amount in the current month.
Lazy Daisy’s losses have been been just below that 40-per-cent threshold, said Chapman, meaning they won’t qualify for the new support program.
“Many restaurants are operating at 20-, 30-, 35-, 39-per-cent reductions in revenue,” Todd Barclay, president of Restaurants Canada said Friday. “Because of the thresholds, they’ll no longer be able to receive any type of subsidy.”
According to the association, seven in 10 restaurants are still relying on the wage and rent subsidies to stay alive, and 50 per cent of them will no longer qualify for the new support program due to the revised criteria.
“Many restaurants across the country, based on the announcement yesterday, have been handed a death sentence,” said Barclay.
The options for many: raise prices, or cut staff wages or hours—an alternative that could have a ripple effect through the industry, according to Bea Bruske, president of the Canadian Labour Congress.
“When employers are able to offer only part-time or very fluctuating hours of work, that also means those workers need to make a decision on whether they can take that job or hold out for something that’s more permanent, and more consistent in terms of their paycheque,” Bruske said.
At the east-end New Town Family Restaurant, owner Prasanna Hettiarachchi has been working solo seven days a week since the start of the pandemic because even with the existing subsidies, couldn’t afford to pay any staff.
The pandemic wage and rent programs have kept his business alive, he said—barely—and losing them may mean he’ll have to shutter his doors for good.
“How am I going to pay if I don’t have anything?” he told CTV News Toronto, “How am I going to pay, the rent, hydro, gas?”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Ellen DeGeneres addresses the 'hurtful' end of her talk show in new stand-up set
Ellen DeGeneres is reflecting on how her talk show came to an end in her newest Netflix special, 'Ellen's Last Stand ... Up Tour.'
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
What to pack during an emergency
Knowing what to have at home, or take with you for an evacuation, can be useful and even life-saving.
Significant police presence as Israeli flag flies at Ottawa City Hall
The Israeli flag is flying at Ottawa City Hall today to mark the country's national day, with plans to hold a private ceremony to mark Israel's Independence Day. There is a significant police presence at City Hall, including security barriers outside the main doors.
Hot history: Tree rings show that last northern summer was the warmest since year 1
The broiling summer of 2023 was the hottest in the Northern Hemisphere in more than 2,000 years, a new study found.
Regulated area for invasive box tree moth expanded to parts of the Maritimes
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has added much of the Maritimes to a regulated area for an invasive species.