Bar and resto-bar owners are calling on Ottawa to hasten the passage of Bill C-2 and relax the criteria for granting subsidies, as the industry faces further restrictions due to the fulgurance of the Omicron variant.
The federal government this week announced new health restrictions that have a direct impact on bars and restaurant-bars in Quebec with a cascade of booking cancellations for the holidays.
In particular, Bill C-2 provides for replacing employer support benefits and extending the hiring program for Canada’s economic recovery until May 7.
According to the provisions of this piece of legislation, Ottawa increases the subsidy rate to 50% and proposes three new assistance measures: the Recovery Program for Tourism and Hospitality, the Recovery Program for the Hardest Affected Businesses and as the Local Containment Support Program.
Without any help since the end of the federal aid programs on October 23, the members of the Union des tenanciers de bars du Québec and the Corporation of the owners of bars, brasseries and taverns of Quebec are sounding the alarm.
In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday, UTBQ president Peter Sergakis and CPBBTQ president Renaud Poulin call for an acceleration of the legislative process to pass Bill C-2 as quickly as possible.
“In addition, we also ask you that the qualification criteria and the subsidy calculation scales be relaxed, considering the additional economic difficulties resulting from the arrival of the new Omicron variant,” they wrote to the Prime Minister.