A review of 2009 and a look ahead to 2010
Since joining CRFA as president and CEO in June, I’ve sought to build on what my predecessor, Douglas Needham, accomplished in his 26 years of leading CRFA – and on what CRFA, celebrating its 65th anniversary this year, has achieved.
I’ve been doing a lot of listening, and a lot of speaking out. Listening to our members across the country, from Vancouver to St. John’s, to better understand their business challenges, and speaking out to politicians and the media to make sure your voice is heard.
Governments at all levels have erected roadblock after roadblock, making it tougher to operate a profitable business. We need to stop this trend.
To do that, we need governments to care about the restaurant industry.
Most politicians don’t understand what it takes to run a successful restaurant. They don’t value our contribution to the economy. They don’t value the over one million jobs and careers we offer. CRFA’s goal is to change that.
Here’s a sample of what we’ve done so far:
- Met with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, several provincial premiers, and government officials to outline the important contributions of our industry;
- Raised our industry’s profile through numerous media appearances;
- Created Canadian Restaurant and Foodservice News, a new CRFA magazine premiering in March 2010 that will showcase the industry and better communicate with our members, politicians and industry stakeholders.
We have a ‘members first’ approach with a new mission to create an environment for our 33,000 members in every community to grow and prosper. With your support, we have accomplished much in 2009, such as:
- Executed a public campaign to curb skyrocketing dairy prices, which achieved a dairy price freeze for 2010;
- Launched an aggressive campaign to fight the HST in B.C.;
- Argued for acceptance of nationally recognized food safety training programs in Quebec;
- Beat back local regulations such as a ban on disposable coffee cups in Toronto and restrictive food primary liquor license hours in Vancouver;
- Pushed for more transparency and accountability when it comes to the fees charged by credit card companies;
- Fought for an increased threshold for small business loan applications as well as a doubled working income tax benefit to reduce disincentives to work;
- Established our temporary foreign worker (TFW) referral program;
- Held three trade shows across Canada to showcase new ideas and insights for the hospitality industry;
- Expanded our group buying program for independent restaurants and introduced more money-saving services for CRFA members.
With 2010 around the corner and signs of an improving economy, the industry has much to look forward to. CRFA will continue listening, speaking out and fighting on your behalf. I welcome your feedback any time at garthwhyte@crfa.ca.
Wishing you all the best this holiday season,
Garth Whyte
President and CEO
Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association