{"id":7637,"date":"2026-05-04T07:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T11:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/?post_type=ceo-notes&#038;p=7637"},"modified":"2026-05-01T16:25:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T20:25:07","slug":"restaurants-are-an-economic-powerhouse","status":"publish","type":"ceo-notes","link":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/fr\/ceo-note\/restaurants-are-an-economic-powerhouse\/","title":{"rendered":"Restaurants Are an Economic Powerhouse"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entries-filter button-tabs\">\n    <div class=\"filters\">\n        <ul>\n                    <li class=\"filter\">\n                <a class=\"btn btn-secondary \" href=\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/ceo-note\/restaurants-are-an-economic-powerhouse\/#federal\">Federal<\/a>\n            <\/li>\n                    <li class=\"filter\">\n                <a class=\"btn btn-secondary \" href=\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/ceo-note\/restaurants-are-an-economic-powerhouse\/#sustainability\">Sustainability<\/a>\n            <\/li>\n                    <li class=\"filter\">\n                <a class=\"btn btn-secondary \" href=\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/ceo-note\/restaurants-are-an-economic-powerhouse\/#atlantic\">Atlantic<\/a>\n            <\/li>\n                    <li class=\"filter\">\n                <a class=\"btn btn-secondary \" href=\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/ceo-note\/restaurants-are-an-economic-powerhouse\/#central\">Central<\/a>\n            <\/li>\n                    <li class=\"filter\">\n                <a class=\"btn btn-secondary \" href=\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/ceo-note\/restaurants-are-an-economic-powerhouse\/#western\">Western<\/a>\n            <\/li>\n                <\/ul>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I was back in Ottawa recently as part of Restaurants Canada\u2019s regular and ongoing interactions with federal decision-makers, raising&nbsp;our&nbsp;industry\u2019s profile and its importance to the national economy as we push on our&nbsp;advocacy priorities.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Restaurants Canada had&nbsp;a great opportunity&nbsp;to&nbsp;represent&nbsp;our industry&nbsp;in a meeting&nbsp;in Ottawa with the federal Liberal&nbsp;Economic Growth Caucus&nbsp;on April 21.&nbsp;I was fortunate to be joined&nbsp;by&nbsp;a&nbsp;delegation&nbsp;of&nbsp;leading&nbsp;industry CEOs&nbsp;and&nbsp;independent&nbsp;operators&nbsp;bringing&nbsp;their business realities directly to the table to make the case for what this industry needs to grow.&nbsp;It&nbsp;was&nbsp;a&nbsp;very&nbsp;productive&nbsp;and candid&nbsp;conversation with Liberal Members of Parliament on the unique role that restaurants play&nbsp;as a key driver in the economy&nbsp;as Canada\u2019s&nbsp;fourth largest private sector employer,&nbsp;contributing 4% of Canada\u2019s GDP,&nbsp;creating jobs, and strengthening communities.&nbsp;Meetings with this Caucus are by invitation only and so we were&nbsp;very pleased&nbsp;to have this chance to inform their recommendations to the Prime Minister on the government\u2019s broader economic growth agenda.&nbsp;I am&nbsp;grateful&nbsp;to&nbsp;our members who joined&nbsp;me&nbsp;in Ottawa&nbsp;for this important discussion.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"936\" height=\"702\" src=\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7640\" style=\"width:521px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-1.png 936w, https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-1-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-1-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-1-600x450.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 936px) 100vw, 936px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I&nbsp;also&nbsp;joined Minister&nbsp;Rechie&nbsp;Valdez, Secretary of State for Tourism, for a national tourism roundtable&nbsp;as part of&nbsp;National Tourism Week.&nbsp;I used&nbsp;the&nbsp;roundtable&nbsp;to reinforce that&nbsp;restaurants serve as&nbsp;the economic and job creation&nbsp;cornerstone of Canada\u2019s tourism sector&nbsp;from coast to coast.&nbsp;Of course, the restaurant industry goes beyond tourism, reaching into every community across Canada. Part of our mission is to create more champions for our sector at the Cabinet table, and Minister Valdez is among those voices.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Q12026&nbsp;Quarterly&nbsp;report&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"898\" height=\"471\" src=\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7638\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.9066231321051503;width:542px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image.png 898w, https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-300x157.png 300w, https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-768x403.png 768w, https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-600x315.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 898px) 100vw, 898px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The latest edition of our&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/research\/the-quarterly-q1-2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Quarterly report<\/a>&nbsp;is now available&nbsp;exclusively to Restaurants Canada members. Be the first to read about the trends&nbsp;impacting&nbsp;your business, foodservice sales forecasts and how the industry is responding.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As you will see in the report, Canada\u2019s restaurant industry is under growing financial strain in early 2026, with persistent affordability challenges, rising operating costs, and uneven consumer spending continuing to erode profitability. The impact ripples through communities, supply chains, and local economies.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We continue to raise these financial challenges with federal and provincial governments.&nbsp;&nbsp;Feeding people is foundational to Canada\u2019s ambitious economic agenda, and Restaurants Canada is calling on governments&nbsp;to take targeted action that both improves affordability for Canadians and supports investment in our job-creating sector.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>CPP Deductions Being Reduced \u2013&nbsp;Spring Economic Update 2026<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking\u00a0of targeted federal measures that\u00a0can\u00a0provide important\u00a0support\u00a0to\u00a0restaurants,\u00a0the\u00a0federal government\u2019s Spring Economic Update\u00a0on April 28\u00a0contained\u00a0one that Restaurants Canada has been pushing for the past few years \u2013 a reduction in payroll taxes.\u00a0As a leading employer in the country and\u00a0a\u00a0labour-intensive industry our sector is<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>disproportionately\u00a0impacted\u00a0by payroll taxes.\u00a0The federal government is\u00a0lowering the contribution rate of\u00a0the base Canada Pension Plan from 9.9 per cent to 9.5 per cent, effective January 1, 2027. Our Chief Economist, Chris Elliott, estimates that\u00a0for a 25-employee restaurant, the annual savings work out to\u00a0over $1,200, with a savings for the\u00a0industry\u00a0at over\u00a0$53 million annually.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Webinar&nbsp;&#8211; How Foodservice Businesses&nbsp;Can&nbsp;Prepare for Major Sporting Events<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>With the FIFA World Cup 2026 just around the corner,&nbsp;don\u2019t&nbsp;miss this&nbsp;timely&nbsp;discussion on&nbsp;how to&nbsp;anticipate&nbsp;demand, manage pressure on your team and operations, and deliver a strong guest experience when it matters most.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>When:&nbsp;<\/strong>Tuesday, May 5 at 2 pm ET\/11 am PT&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/events.restaurantscanada.org\/WinningtheRushHowRestaurantsCanPrepareforMajorSportsEvents#\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">REGISTER NOW<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Hire locally. Scale fast.&nbsp;Meet&nbsp;job seekers where they&nbsp;are&nbsp;at.&nbsp;Meet&nbsp;Kibbi.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Kibbi&nbsp;is an&nbsp;app-based platform that connects you with&nbsp;job-seekers&nbsp;in your&nbsp;community.&nbsp;Kibbi&nbsp;screens the&nbsp;candidates&nbsp;for&nbsp;you, and&nbsp;helps you&nbsp;grow your team.&nbsp;Restaurants Canada members&nbsp;can access tools designed to simplify hiring, connect with local job seekers, and manage applications efficiently \u2014 all in one place.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/mykibbi.ca\/restaurants-canada\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SIGN UP TODAY<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Recognizing&nbsp;Industry&nbsp;Excellence<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Restaurants Canada extends a special congratulations to the team at Wendy\u2019s&nbsp;for winning the KLM&nbsp;Green Leadership Award&nbsp;for their&nbsp;Good Done Right strategy,&nbsp;recognizing the system\u2019s environmental leadership and the way sustainability continues to scale alongside business growth.&nbsp;Read Wendy\u2019s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/prod.wendys.com\/sites\/default\/files\/2026-04\/Wendys-2025-Corporate-Responsibility-Report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2025&nbsp;Corporate Responsibility Report<\/a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;see&nbsp;how they are implementing sustainability initiatives throughout their chain of operations.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"federal\">FEDERAL UPDATE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>From Matt Triemstra | Vice-President, Federal Affairs<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Ottawa Meetings<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Your Restaurants Canada advocacy team&nbsp;continues to be&nbsp;active in Ottawa. Every meeting with a&nbsp;Minister,&nbsp;Member of Parliament, political staff, or departmental official&nbsp;is an opportunity to reinforce the significant economic contribution of our sector and to highlight&nbsp;the importance of supporting the restaurant industry with focused and strategic policy.&nbsp;We are building champions through this regular outreach and education about the&nbsp;important role&nbsp;that restaurants play in the Canadian economy and in every community across the country.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Recent&nbsp;meetings&nbsp;included productive discussions with Paul Moen, Chief of Staff to the Minister of Industry, and MP Karim&nbsp;Bardeesy, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry. We also engaged with&nbsp;Pauline Rochefort, Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretary of State (Rural Development),&nbsp;Senator Martine&nbsp;H\u00e9bert&nbsp;and MPs Tamara&nbsp;Kronis&nbsp;and&nbsp;Marilyn Gladu, to build broad support for our priorities. Additionally, we presented the economic state&nbsp;and labour needs&nbsp;of our industry directly to&nbsp;a broad team of&nbsp;government&nbsp;officials at Employment and Social Development Canada&nbsp;representing&nbsp;the Temporary Foreign Worker program, Youth Employment Policy, and Economic Policy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>TFW Rural Cap Update<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Since the&nbsp;federal government announcement on&nbsp;March 13,&nbsp;offering&nbsp;to increase the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) rural cap from 10% to 15%, Restaurants Canada has been&nbsp;actively advocating for&nbsp;all&nbsp;provinces to adopt this critical measure. With the summer season rapidly approaching, we are&nbsp;continuing to&nbsp;apply pressure to&nbsp;help&nbsp;restaurants&nbsp;meet their&nbsp;workforce needs.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Currently, the provincial landscape is a patchwork of support&nbsp;for the temporary cap.&nbsp;<strong>Manitoba<\/strong>,&nbsp;<strong>Nova Scotia<\/strong>, and&nbsp;<strong>New Brunswick<\/strong>&nbsp;have fully committed to the 15% cap increase and to&nbsp;maintaining&nbsp;their current TFW proportions.&nbsp;<strong>British Columbia<\/strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>Quebec<\/strong>&nbsp;have agreed to&nbsp;retain&nbsp;current proportions but have declined the cap increase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Conversely,&nbsp;<strong>Alberta<\/strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>Nunavut<\/strong>&nbsp;have&nbsp;opted&nbsp;not&nbsp;to&nbsp;participate&nbsp;in the temporary increase. This leaves&nbsp;<strong>Saskatchewan<\/strong>,&nbsp;<strong>Ontario<\/strong>,&nbsp;<strong>Prince Edward Island<\/strong>,&nbsp;<strong>Newfoundland and Labrador<\/strong>,&nbsp;<strong>Yukon<\/strong>, and the&nbsp;<strong>Northwest Territories<\/strong>&nbsp;still undecided. Our team is focused on moving these undecided&nbsp;jurisdictions&nbsp;by emphasizing that this&nbsp;measure&nbsp;will make a meaningful difference for rural restaurants.&nbsp;While TFWs account for only 1.5% of our industry\u2019s total national workforce, they are an essential last resort for operators in some regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"sustainability\">SUSTAINABILITY UPDATE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>From Jillian Rodak | Vice-President, Sustainability<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Advocacy on federal plastics regulations<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Last week, Restaurants Canada met with Environment and Climate Change Canada&rsquo;s Associate ADM Judy Meltzer, and with Nicole&nbsp;Ellement, Senior Advisor&nbsp;to&nbsp;the Minister&nbsp;of&nbsp;Environment and Climate Change, to discuss our industry&rsquo;s&nbsp;hard work&nbsp;on plastic reduction and to clarify the direction of federal plastics regulation. Both ECCC&nbsp;officials&nbsp;and the&nbsp;Minister\u2019s Office&nbsp;were encouraged by the success stories from our industry and responsive to our position of focusing on strategies that account for today&rsquo;s economic environment, guest safety standards, and convenience expectations.&nbsp;At this time,&nbsp;it is clear that no&nbsp;plans are underway to expand the single-use plastics ban.&nbsp;As we develop further engagement opportunities with the&nbsp;federal government on this issue, Restaurants Canada will be meeting with ECCC in the coming weeks to discuss key concerns&nbsp;with&nbsp;the Federal Plastics Registry.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Delayed again: Toronto&rsquo;s Single-Use and Takeaway Item Reduction Strategy<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Last week, Restaurants Canada was informed by City of Toronto staff that the Single-Use and Takeaway Items (SUTI) Reduction strategy will be brought to City Council in 2027, delayed from May 2026. They will use this time to continue to consult with stakeholders and further investigate feedback they received from various organizations. Restaurants Canada will continue to work with city staff to ensure our industry&rsquo;s concerns are incorporated into future iterations of&nbsp;the&nbsp;strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" id=\"Atlantic\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"atlantic\">ATLANTIC CANADA UPDATE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em><strong><em>From Janick Cormier | Vice-President, Atlantic Canada<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Prince Edward Island<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Restaurants Canada met recently with PEI\u2019s Workforce Development Minister Zack Bell and Economic Development Minister Jenn Redmond. The discussion focused on workforce challenges and increases in operating costs for members. It was an opportunity to highlight for the Ministers the significant contribution of our industry to the provincial economy ($565 million in sales last year), including to the agriculture,&nbsp;fisheries&nbsp;and tourism sectors on the island. The Ministers committed to continuing the dialogue&nbsp;in an effort to&nbsp;identifying&nbsp;measures to address the serious challenges facing our industry which will help support the broader economy of the province.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Nova Scotia: Meeting with AGFT \u2013 Training for Door&nbsp;&amp; Security&nbsp;Staff<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As Restaurants Canada has previously reported, the Government of Nova Scotia passed legislation in 2025 that will require door staff\/security employees in clubs and bars to have criminal background checks and training. Last week, we met with officials from Alcohol, Gaming, Fuel and Tobacco (AGFT) to discuss the proposed regulations, which are expected to be approved by Cabinet before the end of May. The legislation explicitly&nbsp;states&nbsp;that the new requirements come into force on June 1, but Restaurants Canada has made it clear to AGFT that compliance by June 1 will be impossible given that the regulations have yet to be&nbsp;finalized. We have been assured that there will be a transition period during which operators will not be penalized. The intention is to have an education-based approach before enforcement action begins. We continue to work with AGFT to address areas of concern for members.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Newfoundland and Labrador<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Last week, Finance Minister Craig Pardy released the province\u2019s 2026 budget. While there were no measures that specifically targeted the foodservice industry in the province, there are some measures that indirectly affects our members such as tax cuts for small businesses, the establishment of a Red Tape Reduction Office, and some investments in tourism marketing and air access. You can see more details on Budget 2026&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.nl.ca\/budget\/2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"central\">CENTRAL CANADA UPDATE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>From Kris Barnier | Vice-President, Central Canada and the North<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Manitoba<\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>PST Fairness<\/strong>\u202f&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Budget 2026 exempted&nbsp;prepared grocery meals from PST but excludes comparable restaurant meals.&nbsp;Restaurants Canada&nbsp;met with Finance Minister Sala to stress the need for equal treatment between restaurants and grocery&nbsp;stores and&nbsp;noted&nbsp;that this proposed policy limits consumer choice.&nbsp;We have followed up in writing to outline the negative economic impact on restaurants of this policy and to bring fairness to the policy by extending PST relief to restaurants.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>LCBO \u2013 New Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Suppliers<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This week, licensees in Ontario will be receiving communications from LCBO to provide information on a new Service Level Agreement (SLA) between LCBO and supplying sources that comes into effect on June 1. The new SLA formalizes policies and procedures for suppliers, which include:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Introducing penalties aimed at ensuring that reliable and consistent service is provided to LCBO\u2019s wholesale customers.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Allowing supplying sources to charge permitted delivery and related service frees directly to wholesale customers. This is described by LCBO as optional, noting that some suppliers may continue to include distribution costs in the product price.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Licensees will be able to opt-in to additional fee-based services from supplying sources (e.g. delivery outside of business hours).&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>LCBO indicates that licensees will have full visibility of any fees via a delivery rate card tool provided by the LCBO in advance of June 1, to inform decisions prior to purchase.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In June, LCBO will also invite eligible domestic and import suppliers and\/or agents to apply to be listed in LCBO\u2019s wholesale product catalogues. These suppliers can opt-in to one or more wholesale catalogues (grocery, convenience, hospitality licensees, LCBO Convenience Outlets, duty-free). Over the coming months, eligible products will be listed in the wholesale ordering platform and participating suppliers and\/or their agents may start contacting hospitality licensees to inform inventory forecasts.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Ontario: Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs)&nbsp;cap extension<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Restaurants Canada has held numerous meetings with the office of the David Piccini, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development and with the Premier\u2019s Office to urge them to opt into the federal government\u2019s offer to allow employers in rural regions to temporarily increase their TFW cap from 10% to 15%. We&nbsp;remain&nbsp;in regular contact with the government to encourage movement on this front.\u202f\u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>FIFA World Cup 2026 \u2013 what you need to know<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The&nbsp;2026 FIFA World Cup&nbsp;tournament will run June 11&nbsp;to&nbsp;July 9.\u202fToronto will host six matches at Exhibition Place on June 12, 17,&nbsp;20,&nbsp;23, 26, and July 2. Restaurants can show matches as part of regular operations\u202f<strong>without a license<\/strong>, provided there is no ticketing, sponsorship, or large-scale activation.\u202fLarger or commercial viewing events&nbsp;likely require&nbsp;a FIFA public viewing license. Extensive guidelines can be found\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublicviewing.fifa.org%2Fpublic_viewing%3Fid%3Dpv_kb_article_new%26sys_id%3Dc1bc189b87f02a10222aebd90cbb3561&amp;data=05%7C02%7CMStanoeva%40restaurantscanada.org%7C141864df271841ef061b08dea60c2f57%7C61cb36f37b9748749f545d6df95ce6d4%7C0%7C0%7C639130768440857454%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=ITEnhXrbEVFXGjx9db%2FFUu9jgM%2FvPqh1RsITS5%2BKP9M%3D&amp;reserved=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>.\u202fSignificant activity is expected around Exhibition Place and at the Fan Festival at Fort&nbsp;York and&nbsp;The&nbsp;Bentway, and there will be some street closures and restricted access near event venues.\u202fDestinations Toronto encourages businesses to share their plans to promote the&nbsp;World&nbsp;Cup, including viewing parties and special menus&nbsp;by&nbsp;completing a\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fforms.monday.com%2Fforms%2Fedb1d994444b769c118a00fdfc9eab33%3Fr%3Duse1&amp;data=05%7C02%7CMStanoeva%40restaurantscanada.org%7C141864df271841ef061b08dea60c2f57%7C61cb36f37b9748749f545d6df95ce6d4%7C0%7C0%7C639130768440901537%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=KRpbc4HkUaYdJz2dFIT6TfkT9%2BFTkNxnTzw4zx1zIBU%3D&amp;reserved=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">content submission form<\/a>.\u202fVisit&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.destinationtoronto.com\/research\/leisure-articles\/post\/preparing-for-fifa-world-cup-26\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Destination Toronto<\/a>&nbsp;for more information on how to prepare.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And as noted in Kelly\u2019s report, members are encouraged to&nbsp;participate&nbsp;in the&nbsp;webinar&nbsp;\u2013&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/events.restaurantscanada.org\/WinningtheRushHowRestaurantsCanPrepareforMajorSportsEvents#\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How Foodservice Businesses Can Prepare for Major Sporting Events<\/a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"western\">WESTERN CANADA UPDATE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>From Cheryl Maitland Muir | Vice-President, Western Canada<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Metro Vancouver Solid Waste Management Plan<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>On April 24, Restaurants Canada presented to the Metro Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District Board to share the industry\u2019s perspective on the region\u2019s draft Solid Waste Management Plan update. While the industry supports efforts to improve&nbsp;waste\u2011diversion&nbsp;rates, we raised concerns about&nbsp;a patchwork approach to regulations,&nbsp;proposals to expand the use of reusable dishware for&nbsp;dine\u2011in&nbsp;service,&nbsp;and&nbsp;potential increases to organics tipping fees. The plan is expected to be&nbsp;submitted&nbsp;to the B.C. Minister of Environment and Parks for final approval later this summer. Restaurants Canada will continue to advocate with both the Province and Metro Vancouver for&nbsp;waste\u2011management&nbsp;approaches that reflect the operational realities of restaurants.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>BC&nbsp;License-to-Licensee&nbsp;Alcohol Sales<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Restaurants Canada\u00a0is\u00a0working\u00a0with members to advance advocacy for\u00a0licensee\u2011to\u2011licensee\u00a0sales in British Columbia, which\u00a0is\u00a0critical for business continuity and access to specialty products. Members interested in supporting this effort are encouraged to contact Cheryl Maitland Muir at\u00a0<strong><a href=\"mailto:cmuir@restaurantscanada.org\">cmuir@restaurantscanada.org<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Alberta&nbsp;Workforce Challenges<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Restaurants Canada attended the Premier\u2019s Summit on Fairness for Newcomers on April 14 and engaged with stakeholders and representatives from the Premier\u2019s Office to discuss workforce challenges facing the restaurant sector. Discussions also highlighted the industry\u2019s efforts to increase youth employment and the essential role that immigrants play in supporting a vibrant and growing restaurant sector.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Saskatchewan<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Last week, Restaurants Canada was in Saskatoon and Regina to meet with members, attend the SLGA&nbsp;and Hospitality Saskatchewan Food and Beverage Expo&nbsp;and engage with&nbsp;senior&nbsp;representatives from the SLGA, the Premier\u2019s Office, and key government ministries.&nbsp;In our meetings, we shared an update on the economic impact of the restaurant sector in Saskatchewan and continued advocacy efforts focused on securing equal access to wholesale liquor pricing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>With gratitude,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I was back in Ottawa recently as part of Restaurants Canada\u2019s regular and ongoing interactions with federal decision-makers, raising&nbsp;our&nbsp;industry\u2019s profile and its importance to the national economy as we push on our&nbsp;advocacy priorities.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Restaurants Canada had&nbsp;a great opportunity&nbsp;to&nbsp;represent&nbsp;our industry&nbsp;in a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7640,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"advocacy-issue":[],"class_list":["post-7637","ceo-notes","type-ceo-notes","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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