| Presentation to the Tourism Ministers’ Meeting
Sept. 10, 2009
Toronto, ON
Garth Whyte, President & CEO
Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Industry
Thank you for inviting me to speak to you today. It is a privilege to be given this opportunity.
I want to focus on the restaurant and foodservice industry, which is a major segment of Canada’s tourism industry.
My key message to you is that your primary goal should be to make the restaurant and tourism industry a top public policy priority for Canada, and in your respective jurisdictions.
A healthy, vibrant, prosperous and growing restaurant sector is critical for a healthy, vibrant, prosperous and growing tourism sector.
A prosperous and growing restaurant sector is critical to Canada’s future growth and job creation. It is critical to growth and job creation in every community across the country.
My challenge to you, as Ministers, is to develop a vision for the restaurant industry in Canada and in your province or territory.
Before I give you the elements of that vision let me first give you an example of what I call the anti-restaurant vision – the one that perpetuates the negative misperceptions of this vibrant industry.
Some of you might have seen the United Way advertising campaign. I have seen it often on TV and on billboards as I take the subway in Toronto. It is a very effective campaign, similar to a theme used by other social groups – to give a hand up, not a hand-out.
The first ad is a picture of a homeless man lying on the street who is lifted out of that dire circumstance to wearing a uniform and walking to work as a truck driver.
The next ad shows a frail, elderly woman in a housedress, being lifted into a more active and independent lifestyle.
Finally, there is a newcomer to Canada, standing in front of a stack of dishes in a restaurant kitchen that looks more like a dungeon. He is lifted out of that job to a more meaningful job in the medical field.
This is a wake-up call to our industry. It is clear that many Canadians and governments do not fully appreciate the important role the restaurant and foodservice industry plays in Canada, our communities and in the tourism industry.
My intent is not to attack the United Way campaign. In fact, I want to ask their permission to show their ads to my Board members. We need to do a better job of communicating about our entrepreneurship, our innovation, our job creation, our community support and our success stories.
We could use your help to get that message out to Canadians and your respective governments. This is a non-partisan issue.
When I describe this dishwasher image to my members, they are often hurt and then angry. It is our industry that gives many people their first job. It is our industry that lifts people into better and bigger jobs.
A Board member who is president of a multi-billion-dollar company told me that his first job was as a dishwasher. Another told me that he recently gave a franchise to a Canadian who immigrated here 10 years ago and started as a dishwasher.
There is no shortage of stories in our industry of motivated individuals who started off in entry level jobs and built successful careers in foodservice.
Canada's restaurant and foodservice industry employs more than one million people, generate $60 billion in annual sales and account for 4% of the national economy. We contribute to communities of all sizes, all across Canada.
More than two-thirds of Canada's restaurants are locally owned and operated by independent entrepreneurs. In addition to good food and good times, we serve up jobs, investment and community involvement.
Our 84,000 restaurants, cafeterias, coffee shops and bars are gathering spots for people from all walks of life, and we are proud to serve as a social club for seniors, the boardroom of small business, and a meeting place for community groups.
You’ll find us wherever Canadians gather to celebrate, do business, talk politics, and spend time with family and friends.
Like many other industries, foodservice has been hit hard by the recent recession – but at the same time we are uniquely positioned to contribute to economic recovery and growth.
Every one million dollars in restaurant sales creates nearly 27 jobs, making our industry one of the top five job creators in Canada.
Every dollar spent at a restaurant generates an additional $1.85 in spending in the rest of the economy – well above the average for all industries in Canada. And the benefits are felt in every community, not just in major centres.
Over a 10-year period from 1999 to 2008, Canada’s accommodation and foodservices industry created nearly 160,000 jobs – that’s more than agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining and finance combined.
More than 480,000 young people work in foodservice, representing nearly one in five jobs for youth. We build future leaders.
I am a board member for the Association of Canadian Community Colleges. I meet with presidents of colleges from across the country. They tell me that hospitality and foodservices is one of their most in-demand and growing career programs. What do our young people know that we don’t know?
Our industry also opens doors for new Canadians as they seek to establish themselves in a new country and gain experience and contacts in the Canadian job market. In foodservice, it really is possible for a motivated employee to grow from washing dishes in the kitchen to cooking up deals in the boardroom.
We’re proud of the opportunities we create for youth and new Canadians whether they’re with us for a year, or a career.
We feed Canada’s tourism industry.
As Canadian travelers and international guests “keep exploring” all that Canada has to offer, our industry keeps them well-fed for the adventures that lie in store.
From rustic restaurants on Vancouver Island to laughter-filled Newfoundland pubs – and with tens of thousands of busy urban cafés and cafeterias in between – foodservice is at the heart of a healthy tourism industry.
Nearly one-third of all tourism employees – that’s 164,000 people -- work in foodservice. Our industry generates more than 17% of Canada’s total tourism revenues. We are also the third-largest contributor to tourist spending – only air travel and accommodation account for more.
Far from being a one-way street, we rely on tourism for our own success, now and into the future. The $11 billion that Canadian and international tourists spend in restaurants and bars accounts for more than 18% of our $60-billion industry.
We have a great story to tell!
And unlike many other industries, you won’t find foodservice asking for direct financial aid. We are proudly self-sufficient and ask only that federal, provincial and municipal governments take our industry into account during policy planning.
Despite challenges like rising food and labour costs, restaurants continue to serve customers and create jobs in communities all across the country, without government hand-outs, bail-outs or subsidies.
I believe many Canadians take for granted the high quality of our foodservice experience in Canada.
I would argue that our governments do not fully appreciate the enormous economic and social impact of the restaurant and tourism industry.
My question to you as Ministers of the tourism sector: is the foodservice industry important or not?
If the answer is yes, then I challenge you to have your government make the restaurant and foodservice industry a policy priority.
Often my members tell me they are frustrated. They feel under-appreciated. They talk of death by a thousand cuts – with a myriad of tax, labour, environment, health and other regulatory policies hitting them at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels.
If governments truly want to help the restaurant industry to grow and prosper, you must make it a top priority through which the various tax and regulatory policies are filtered.
We are not asking for a hand-out or a hand up. We are asking for a fair shake -- and some applause on occasion.
Thank you
- 30 -
Click here for media contact information |
