Thank you very much for allowing me to join you all today.
I would like to thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the restaurant and hospitality industries here in Manitoba.
As a meeting place for enjoyable nights out with family and friends, our industry has been reduced to a meek and unpredictable takeout and delivery business, with 75% of our industry operating on only 20% of its revenue stream to sustain their businesses. Our average profit margin of only 4.5% is not sustainable for any length of time. We've seen about an 80% reduction in the workforce, and dedicated operators have been turned into cooks, delivery drivers and grocery store clerks to keep us sustainable during this destructive time. With no current federal or provincial programs for fixed costs or for rent assistance and loan application processes that are very convoluted and time-consuming, we're actually seeing a lot of operators unable to create enough hours in the day to remain operationally effective and also remain up to speed on delayed or unavailable programs.
For the approximately 25% of restaurants that are not operational, federal assistance programs available on the basis of wage subsidy are moot. Each day these operations come closer to joining the list of restaurants that will never open their doors again.
A recent conversation I had with an operator of five local fine dining restaurants resulted in a tear-filled plea for more industry-specific assistance, including a federal rebate program for the approximately $75,000 in third-party delivery commissions that he's been forced to pay due to the mandated closure of his dining rooms.
As an industry that struggles to attract high-quality and dedicated employees, each day our industry loses more and more of these existing employees to government programs like CERB. Every day we see another brick in that structure that supports our future removed. Uncertainty about the status of our industry and the future poses significant challenges on retaining post-COVID-19 profitable business. Reality shows that our industry will retain significant losses due to social distancing guidelines for months and possibly years to come.
The reliance on delivery will probably change the structure of a restaurant experience. Federal relief in maybe the form of a CRA adjustment to deductions for claimable business meals would assist in fostering beneficial growth in business revenue, in the form of both dine-in and takeout options.
As one of the first industries to self-close to ensure both patron and staff safety in Manitoba, our industry has been driven to devise operational protocols to ensure that our future patrons can enjoy a dining experience in a responsible and safe manner. We're looking to our federal government to institute a social distancing subsidy program to be available for operators who require changes to their restaurant operational schematic and to ensure that their future business is conducted within the guidelines of social distancing in the dining room, the lobby and in the kitchen.
As we continue to provide feedback at our provincial and federal levels, we continue to see a lack of a unified approach to a national strategy on recovery within our restaurant industry. We're looking to the federal government to initiate a national committee of underlying layers to bring leaders in contact with each other within the restaurant industry to compile a unified strategy on recovery processes, with an ultimate goal of returning our industry to pre-COVID-19 success.
With one week remaining before May 2020's remittance date for commercial rent, operators continue to search for unique ways to meet rent costs with no significant rent relief options in sight. Our industry cannot sustain these consistent drawbacks to the already deteriorated morale that accompanies the uncertainty of a viable future. We're looking to our federal government to initiate these collaborative rental assistance programs that will provide immediate and time-sensitive relief to our operators.
As operators create new and innovative operational processes like grocery delivery to remain viable, we're looking to our federal government to utilize these same principles to initialize programs that will ensure our industry will continue to grow and provide essential services to people and ensure that it's a safe environment in which to enjoy the fellowship of family and friends for years to come.
Thank you for allowing us to discuss the challenge with you today. We're confident that our federal government will do the right thing to preserve our industry for generations to come.
Cheers.