Restaurants call for more support
The Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec (FCCQ) is presenting the government with possible solutions to help restaurateurs get back to business as quickly as possible.
Last Thursday Premier Francois Legault announced that restaurant dining rooms, theatres and gyms located in red zones will remain closed until Jan 11, but family gatherings have been authorized for a four-day window during the holiday season.
Restaurants could have been safe places for family gatherings, given the many investments in safety measures, explained Charles Milliard, President and CEO of the FCCQ in a press release.
“This is an extremely hard blow for many companies, not only on their finances, but also on their morale. We understand that the current numbers of COVID-19 cases do not allow for a full return to normal, but the restaurant companies have invested significant amounts of money to bring their spaces up to the highest sanitary standards. The limited number of gatherings in these establishments could have been done without compromising public health,” Milliard, said.
A cry from the heart of the business community
“The business community, both in the cities and in the regions, is crying out for help because of the fear of seeing many businesses disappear because of this new prolonged closure,” Milliard went on. “Businesses have been following all the instructions since the very beginning of the pandemic. They have closed once, invested to adapt their business, closed temporarily and
now they are postponing their reopening once again. We cannot remain insensitive to the reality that these businesses are facing. While remaining vigilant about public health practices, we believe the government should prepare the groundwork for the reopening of restaurants and send signals to restaurant entrepreneurs and the public,” Milliard commented.
The FCCQ submitted a list of options to the government for consideration to help restaurateurs and the business community.
During the holiday season, from Dec. 24 to 27, the FCCQ believes restaurant owners should have the possibility of accommodating a limited number of people in their dining rooms.
The federation also wants the announcement of the reopening of restaurant dining room operations once the situation with COVID-19 improves to be made as soon as possible to allow time for restaurateurs to prepare.
Once open again, the FCCQ asked that the formula to limit patronage be based on capacity and the regional reality of the restaurant, so that it would be financially attractive enough to resume operations.
Opening with a limited number of customers, while applying public health protection measures, would be a better option given the impact on jobs and the restaurant supply chain than a complete closure again, the FCCQ said.
The federation also suggested deferring GST and QST rebates on sales made by restaurants, bars and other businesses subject to forced closures until June 30, 2021.
The FCCQ recommended penalizing restaurants and bar owners who do not apply public health rules more severely and including a specific component in local purchasing campaigns to encourage restaurants, bars, gyms and other establishments closed in red zones to restore customer confidence.
In addition to the people who survived COVID-19, the FCCQ recommended using restaurant employees in future campaigns to raise awareness among the Quebec government regarding compliance with public health standards, since they are suffering the negative impact of this crisis and the message conveyed would be powerful.
The FCCQ also asked that the government take into account regional particularities that create inequitable situations. Restaurants in Gatineau are closed, but their customers frequent bars and restaurants in Ottawa. The situation is the same for regions bordering the Laurentians, the FCCQ pointed out.
“There are approximately 21,000 restaurant establishments in Quebec that are in a state of uncertainty,” Milliard said, adding that there are different regional realities and wall-towall solutions are difficult to envisage. Recognizing it is a challenge for the Quebec government to respond to these concerns. Milliard said the industry needs positive signals in support of short-term recovery. “We need to work now on a scenario for resuming restaurant operations by Jan. 11, 2021, with a limited number of dining rooms, because a delay beyond that date would have even more devastating consequences for the industry,” concluded Milliard.