Support your local businesses

Canada has admittedly lagged behind other developed nations in terms of productivity growth and innovation for years, but when the first wave of lockdowns swept the country in March, Canada’s entrepreneurs and captains of industry proved to be a resourceful and adaptable bunch.

Clothiers switched to making gowns and masks. Distilleries were churning out hand sanitizer. Auto manufacturers were producing ventilators. And plastics companies began manufacturing COVID test kits.

But for many industries, there is only so much that can be done in the face of government- mandated closures and widespread fears of congregating in public places. Canada lost three million jobs in March and April, and the majority of them were in retail, food services, hotels, construction and manufacturing.

While the economy has recovered remarkably well since then, some industries are still hurting, and things are only going to get worse with large swaths of the country now back in lockdown.

The restaurant and accommodation industry has understandably struggled to recuperate. According to Restaurants Canada, a trade association, while total employment in Canada recovered 81 per cent of the jobs lost between May and November, the food-service industry recovered just 57 per cent.

In total, the food- services and accommodation industry experienced a net loss of 260,000 jobs since February. The importance of this industry to the economy cannot be overstated: it employed over 1.2 million Canadians before the pandemic, and that doesn’t include all the farmers, fishermen, winemakers and others who rely on it for their livelihoods. It also disproportionately employs young adults, minorities and women, who have been particularly hard hit by the economic fallout from COVID-19.

But the value restaurants offer goes far beyond levels of employment and economic output; they are a part of our culture and our communities.

Think of some of Canada’s iconic pubs and eateries. Like Schwartz’s, the Montreal deli that was founded by Jewish- Romanian immigrants in 1928 and has been the subject of a book, a musical and two documentaries. Or Victoria’s Six Mile Pub and Eatery, which has been around since 1856 and has been known, at various times, as a gathering place for British sailors, rum- runners, bootleggers and locals. Or just about any small town restaurant that, in normal times, is one of the few places where the entire community socializes together.

Such establishments will be crucial when this pandemic is over. They will be the places where we will come together to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, or grab a drink with friends and family. Humans are social animals and there will come a time when we will all need to feel normal again by sitting down and breaking bread with one another.

But that is going to be much harder if many restaurants go out of business. A survey conducted by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business ( CFIB) found that one in four hospitality businesses is facing a serious risk of closing. That would be a profound loss for our society, not to mention our palates.

Thankfully, the restaurant industry has also been innovating. There was a time when anyone ordering in was limited to pizza or Chinese, but thanks to the numerous online food delivery services operating in this country, everything from hamburgers to fine dining is now a click away, offering pandemic- weary Canadians a chance to sample a wide variety of international cuisines from the safety and comfort of their own homes.

Restaurants are struggling and they need our help. And so do local retailers, many of which are also hanging by a thread, and are in for some challenging times now that the holiday shopping season has passed and health restrictions are increasing.

Like restaurants, retailers also took a big hit in the spring, but the hardships were not shared by all. Grocery stores have had a banner year, with year-over-year sales increasing 11.5 per cent in the first 10 months of 2020. E- commerce sales doubled in the second quarter and Amazon was well positioned to capture the market, with the company reporting net revenues of US$6.3 billion ($8 billion) in the third quarter, compared with US$ 2.1 billion a year earlier.

The same is not true for many small businesses, which used to rely on foot traffic, rather than online sales. According to the CFIB, one in seven retailers is at risk of going out of business. And in Ontario, a third of independent businesses say they may not survive the current lockdown.

Like other industries, small retailers have been innovating. Between March and November, 152,000 small businesses started selling their wares online, but many are struggling to make money that way. Yet Canadians can help out by using sites like Not Amazon or even Google Maps to find local merchants that have a web presence.

Many on the left have taken this opportunity to attack large online retailers and big box stores, but the truth is that their ability to maintain inventory and scale-up shipping was crucial in the first wave, and will continue to offer a lifeline to many Canadians in the second. However, competition is essential to the proper functioning of a market economy and we cannot afford to let the many small businesses that have served our communities for years go under, nor can we afford to lose all the jobs they provide.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with ordering from Walmart or cooking at home, but we hope Canadians will also place orders with local restaurants and retailers, so they will be around to provide us with the goods we need and the camaraderie we crave when this pandemic passes.

ACCORDING TO THE CFIB, ONE IN SEVEN RETAILERS RISKS GOING OUT OF BUSINESS.