Federal Candidate Checklist

This election, meet with your local candidates to tell them that the restaurant industry is too important to ignore!  Find out where they stand on key issues.

Credit Card Fees
The fees charged to accept credit cards are skyrocketing.  Various fees and rules make it impossible to control or even predict the cost of accepting credit cards.  Worst of all, restaurants must pay credit card fees on the sales tax they collect.

Red Tape
The administrative workload of complying with government regulations is so burdensome that it makes it difficult for small operators to run their business. 

Payroll Taxes
Payroll taxes are the most negative form of government taxation because they are a tax on jobs.  The restaurant industry is particularly labour-intensive and is disproportionately affected by increases in labour costs.

GST/HST on Food
Increasingly, grocery stores are selling ready-to-heat meals that compete directly with restaurants.  Meals are tax-free in the grocery store, but meals at restaurants are subject to GST/HST, creating an unfair situation for restaurants.

Labour Shortage
By 2025 the restaurant industry will be short 140,000 workers.  Canada needs EI and CPP policies that provide incentives to work and immigration policy aligned with labour market needs for all skill levels.

Healthy Living
Restaurants take the health of their customers seriously.  Instead of being treated as a threat that should be regulated, restaurants want to be partners in developing workable nutrition and fitness policy that will improve the health of Canadians.

Restaurant Industry Facts
Restaurants are economic drivers at the heart of communities across Canada.