04 Jun
On the heels of the highly successful ‘Save BC Restaurants’ campaign, the call for a designated single point of contact within government for the hospitality industry has now been answered.
On June 4, 2024, Lana Popham was appointed as the designated Provincial cabinet liaison for the hospitality sector.
“Restaurants are such an important part of the fabric of our communities and our local economies, and we know the last few years have been tough on the industry,” said Lana Popham, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport. “I am excited to be the point person into government for the BC Restaurants & Foodservices Association and Restaurants Canada to make it easier for the industry to access the support it needs.”
Having to engage with numerous ministries and government agencies in the past, restaurants and other stakeholders in the hospitality sector have faced significant challenges in addressing legislative and regulatory concerns. Now with a designated point person within government, the communication will be streamlined to one individual who will have a complete picture of all industry challenges.
“We’re incredibly excited to work with Minister Popham,” said BCRFA President & CEO Ian Tostenson. “The Province has always been willing to listen to our concerns and work with restaurants to implement sensible changes – with today’s announcement, we’re looking forward to doing even more.”
This appointment builds on additional supports provided by government such as the Securing Small Business Rebate program, the cap on food delivery fees, providing more time to make temporary patios permanent, and wholesale liquor pricing saving food service businesses $244.9 million to date. In addition, government doubled the exemption threshold for the Employer Health Tax from $500,000 to $1M and prorated the tax for businesses with between $1 million – $1.5 million in payroll so now 90% of businesses will be exempt from the EHT.
We at Rising Tide Consultants are very pleased to see the positive steps in the right direction for our hospitality industry that has struggled very hard ever since the pandemic. Slowly, but surely, we are seeing things turn around for BC restaurants.
