Restaurant industry welcomes New Brunswick’s recipe for growth
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 3, 2011
FREDERICTON – In today’s budget consultations with business leaders, the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA) told Finance Minister Blaine Higgs that government is on the right path to creating an environment for small businesses in New Brunswick to grow and prosper.
Government has made commitments to rein in spending, reject an increase in the HST and grow the economy. Restaurant operators believe these measures, along with the government’s suggestions to introduce minimum wage differentials and privatize Alcool NB Liquor (ANBL), could raise additional revenue and spur growth throughout the small business sector.
“Small businesses, in particular restaurant and other foodservice businesses, are the key to economic growth in every single community,” says Luc Erjavec, Vice-President Atlantic Canada. “A vibrant restaurant industry plays a central role in the social and economic fabric of communities across the province. Given the opportunity, we will grow our businesses, creating more jobs for New Brunswickers, expanding markets for the province’s products and services and generating revenue for government. It’s a win-win situation for all.”
As one of New Brunswick’s largest private-sector employers, the restaurant industry encompasses more than 24,000 direct employees and over 1,600 commercial establishments. According to a recent Ipsos poll for Kraft Foodservice Canada and CRFA, 22 per cent of Canadians were first employed by the restaurant industry.
Click here (PDF) to read CRFA’s submission on the 2011 budget.
Click here to read CRFA’s letter to Minister Higgs commending his consideration of tiered minimum wage
CRFA is one of Canada’s largest business associations, with more than 30,000 members representing restaurants, bars, caterers, institutions and other foodservice providers. Canada’s $60-billion foodservice industry employs more than one million people in communities across the country.
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