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Are your colleagues and franchisees subscribed to the Daily Update?
If you would like to subscribe all your franchisees to receive our Daily Update, please contact Alex Mann at amann@cfa.ca.
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Federal support for farmers, food businesses, and food processors
The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau announced an investment of more than $252 million to support farmers, food businesses, and food processors.
- $77.5 million Emergency Processing Fund to help food producers access more PP), adapt to health protocols, automate or modernize their facilities, processes, and operations, and respond to emerging pressures.
- $125 million in funding to help producers faced with additional costs incurred by COVID-19. This includes set-asides for cattle and hog management programs to manage livestock backed-up on farms, due to the temporary closure of food processing plants.
- Increase the Canadian Dairy Commission’s borrowing limit by $200 million to support costs associated with the temporary storage of cheese and butter to avoid food waste.
- Creation of a Surplus Food Purchase Program (initial $50 million) designed to help redistribute existing and unsold inventories such as potatoes and poultry, to local food organizations who are serving vulnerable Canadians.
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Most Canadians comfortable with pace of easing restrictions: poll
77% of Canadians happy with COVID-19 measures, but only 43% of Americans feel same about their government. The poll, conducted by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies between May 1 and 3, surveyed 1,526 adult Canadians and 1,002 adult Americans randomly recruited from its online panel. The internet-based survey cannot be assigned a margin of error because online polls are not considered random samples.
People in most provinces taking steps to reopen were between 60 and 70 per cent supportive of those moves, while 16 to 30 per cent would like to see their government slow down a little. Some provinces have already begun loosening physical distancing measures put in place as the growth in the number of COVID-19 cases started picking up steam in March.
In Quebec, which has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Canada, the province is allowing some retail stores to reopen outside of Montreal with an eye to reopen the manufacturing and construction sectors next week. On Monday it pushed back the reopening of non-essential stores in the Montreal area at least another week.
Ontario, with the second-highest number of confirmed cases in the country, is allowing the partial reopening of some seasonal businesses.
Manitoba has gone even further, allowing slightly restricted access to libraries, museums, and restaurant patios.
But in Alberta, which plans to allow certain retail stores, restaurants and daycare centres to reopen as early as May 14, people seem less comfortable with how quickly things are moving. There, 50 per cent of respondents would like the province to slow down.
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NB launches job-matching platform
JobMatchNB, a virtual job-matching platform, was launched Monday to connect New Brunswickers with available positions. Employers can add jobs into the system and they will appear on the site within a few days. Last week, the New Brunswick government announced a ban on any temporary foreign workers entering the province.
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B.C. creates COVID-19 temporary layoff period
The BC government has extended the temporary layoff period from 13 weeks to 16 weeks for COVID-19 related reasons.
Previously under the Employment Standards Act, a temporary layoff longer than 13 weeks in any 20-week period (or about three months in a five-month period) was considered a permanent layoff. With a permanent layoff, employers are required to provide employees with written working notice of termination and/or pay severance to qualifying employees, based on their length of service. Now, temporary layoffs relating to the COVID-19 pandemic can be extended to 16 weeks, if the employee agrees.
This change to the Employment Standards Act aligns B.C.’s temporary layoff provisions with the federal Canada Emergency Response Benefit period. The federal period provides 16 weeks of financial support, allowing employees to take full advantage of those benefits.
It also allows employees to keep their job, even if they are not working, for 16 weeks of temporary layoff. Employers will be able to quickly resume operations should the public health emergency end within that time.
The COVID-19 emergency temporary layoff provisions are not intended to be permanent and will be repealed when no longer needed.
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Visits to Canadian Retailers are down 76% during COVID-19 Pandemic
In Canada, PiinPoint’s Mobile Location Data shows that visits to retailers are down 76% from this time last year. Not surprisingly, the data shows that restaurants have been hit the hardest, experiencing a 95% drop in visits when compared to the same period last year, given the strict business closures that have been enforced by provincial and federal governments. Those eateries with an option for drive-thru service, such as fast-food restaurants, are seeing a 70% decrease in visits.
Banks, clothing, and home decor stores reflect a similar impact as restaurants, with an 89% drop in visits, while electronic and office supply stores have seen an 82% decrease in visits. With stay-at-home measures in place and few people driving to work, gas stations have seen a 90% decrease in visitors, despite record low gas prices.
Home Improvement stores have taken a hit with a 35% decrease in visits, and that number is expected to increase as many stores have been forced to move to curbside pickup only.
Grocery stores initially saw a massive increase in visits leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic announcement, as people stocked up on supplies. Amidst the battles for toilet paper and panic-buying, there was a surge of visits to Grocery stores, peaking at a 196% increase on March 23 when compared to the previous year. However, following the stock-up period and this large increase, visits are still down 27% year over year.
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ARTICLES OF INTEREST FROM CFA MEMBERS
Conference Board of Canada
Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP:
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MISSED TODAY'S WEBINAR?
Managing Supply Chain Risks and Interruptions
50 CFE PARTICIPATION CREDITS
Moderator: David Druker, The UPS Store Canada
Speakers: Sean Bell, Mary Brown’s Inc.; Mark Cunningham, Smoke’s Poutinerie; George Szewchuk, Szewchuk & Associates Inc.
In this webinar, find out what some franchisors are doing to manage disruptions to their supply chains due to impact of COVID-19 and how they looking to adjust moving forward.
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UPCOMING WEBINAR
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MAY 7, 2020
AT 2:00 PM ET
The Corona Crisis and Franchisors: coping with the fall out; getting ready for the turnaround!
50 CFE PARTICIPATION CREDITS
SPEAKERS: Ned Levitt, Dickinson Wright LLP and Hylton Levy, Farber Group
However, sooner or later, the economy will revive and a new “normal” will immerge. The future is bleak for franchisors who, during this time, merely react to events as they unfold. In this webinar, learn to make the tough decisions and explore opportunities for the new "normal" post-corona-crisis so that you can take advantage of the possibilities.
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Feedback from our Members
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"Great job with all the webinars. Very informative!”
- Gigi Harding, President, Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa
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COVID-19's impact on the world is creating waves across all sectors and industries.
Every member of the CFA community is dealing with an issue that is affecting the world, our industries, our communities, our businesses, and our people.
We would like to hear from you if you have any topics, issues or questions to navigate turbulent times in order to support you further:
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