 in Vancouver Falls Creek for an important announcement. I would like to thank Kevin Lum, pardon me, Kelvin Lum, CFO of Whitespot for hosting us here at the Dunsbury location. Special thanks go out as well to Mark Van Shelwich, Vice President of Restaurants Canada for joining us here today. These past two years with COVID-19 have affected all of us in one way or another. Restaurants and the hospitality sector have been hard hit and have had to rapidly pivot to find new ways through great innovation and hard work. We're figuring out ways to thrive in our new environment. Our government continues to work with BC's restaurant industry to offer support and continue to recovery. I invite Minister Calon to tell you one of the ways that we're doing this. Good morning and thank you Brenda. It's lovely to be here today in your writing of Vancouver Falls Creek. I'd like to begin by acknowledging that we are gathered today on the traditional territory of the Coast Salish people, in particular the Muscovam, Squamish, and Salewa Tooth Nations. A big thank you to Kelvin at Whitespot for hosting us here today for today's announcement. I also want to thank Mark Van Shelwich, who's the Vice President of Restaurants Canada for being here. I also want to thank Mark for his incredible work through this pandemic. He's been a very strong advocate for the restaurant and the hospitality sector and his advice to us in government has been so valuable through what was a very, very challenging time. It's good to be here at this local Whitespot on Dunsmere Street. I know this is a staple for the community. It's a place where friends and family like to gather every single day to have a good meal and have a great conversation. And I want to thank them for again having us here today. We know that restaurants like this one and many others have had a tough year. All of our businesses in BC have shown incredible resiliency and determination. From the beginning of this pandemic, they have drastically changed the way they do business. And throughout the last two years, they have adapted, they've pivoted, and they've stepped up to ensure that they can keep their workers safe, as well as the people who visit their business. Restaurants enhanced their cleaning and safety protocols. They operated at reduced capacities. They implemented successfully BC's vaccine card program. And of course, they shifted to more delivery sales. I know as my family owned a restaurant for close to a decade that even when we were in bad times, we were stressed. And even in good times, there's a lot of stress. And we know that with the rising case counts, people have relied more on food delivery to keep supporting their local restaurants. But we heard from the industry that the food delivery charges were increasing drastically during the pandemic. And it was making it more challenging for many restaurants to continue to operate in a safe way. That's why we introduced the food delivery cap to help businesses stay open. We heard clearly that the food delivery cap has been widely viewed as a success and a key measure during the pandemic. We know that there are challenging days ahead. And that's why I'm pleased to join all of you today to announce that the government is extending the fee cap order for food delivery services for another year. The 15% delivery cap and the 5% processing fee has provided much needed relief for BC restaurants and businesses. The fee cap leaves more hard-earned money in the hands of people working in the restaurant industry. The order also ensures that delivery drivers are fairly compensated and stops delivery companies from shifting their delivery costs to other fees. Our government remains committed to helping BC restaurants and cafes, including the 180,000 people that are employed. The food delivery cap, along with the BC vaccine card, is another way we're supporting restaurants to continue to operate in a safe way through this pandemic. Earlier this year, we announced the restaurants are now able to purchase beer, wine, spirits at wholesale prices, and we've made that permanent. This is on top of us providing the highest per capita supports for people and businesses in the entire country. We're taking these steps because we know how important restaurants are, like this white spot, to our communities. We can all do our part by continuing to support our businesses and enjoy delicious meals in our communities. So this holiday season, I ask you again, join me in supporting people and businesses that keep our communities vibrant. Order your favourite restaurants. Stop, shop, local, and buy BC. The BC businesses that we support in British Columbia, they need us more than ever, and the truth is, we need them. So with that, thank you very much, and I call my colleague Brenda Bailey back up. Thank you, Minister Calong, for your leadership and for sharing this important news with restaurant owners and all British Columbians. I would now like to introduce Mark Van Shellwich, who's the Vice President of Restaurants Canada and Food Services Association, to speak and share why the food service delivery cap extension is so important to this industry. Well, thank you so much, Brenda, and thank you, Minister, for today's announcement. We certainly really, really appreciate it in the food service industry. You know, it's been a really tough challenging couple of years for the industry, as you all know, and really happy that the industry's been resilient and adaptive. And one of the ways that we've had to adapt is, of course, through more takeout and delivery sales. Before the pandemic, we'd already seen an increase in third-party delivery sales, as it became important for some members. But after the pandemic, we saw on-premise dining decline by half, and delivery sales increased by three-fold. So a three-times increase in delivery sales showed how important this was. And before the pandemic, they were doing this to trade dollars, and it wasn't really a profit center. But as it becomes a more important component of every restaurant sales mix, it was really important to have these fees capped. So this is a win-win situation for third-party delivery companies and for restauranters. So we really appreciate the extension of the cap on those fees, as we live in a very uncertain world. This provides that cost stability that restaurants really need in the takeout delivery business. And as the minister also pointed out, we really appreciate what has also been done to complement this, and that is the historic permanent wholesale pricing for liquor here in British Columbia. That really helps our members and the ability to have liquor delivered with meals as far as our takeout menus are concerned. So, you know, we're in very challenging times still. We've still got about 60% of our table service restaurants that are losing money and going into more debt each month. So anything that the governments can do to help stabilize our costs when we've seen food price increases, labor cost increases, all the uncertainty about the supply chain, and, you know, what's next? We've had, you know, heat in the summer, floods. And now the only joke that we've got in the industry is locusts are what's going to be coming next. But really appreciate all the efforts that the BC government has done to work with industry, to listen to industry concerns, and today's announcement reflects that ability to listen and to help our industry get through this pandemic. And hopefully we can get to normal operations again as British Columbia's third largest private sector employer. You know, we are very important to all the communities that we represent. And finally, just a big thanks as well to Whitespot. It's an iconic restaurant brand here in British Columbia and appreciate their leadership and for hosting us here today. So thank you very much for the ability to be here. And thank you to the government of British Columbia for today's important announcement, which provides more costability for restaurants at a time when they really need it. Thank you very much. Thanks very much, Mark, for your words and helping us understand why the food service delivery cap is so important, in fact, vital to your sector and to the people they employ in our local communities. I would now like to introduce Kelvin Lum, who's the CFO of Whitespot Restaurants, to share why the food delivery service cap extension is important to the restaurants. Kelvin. Thank you, Brenda. Good morning. Again, my name is Kelvin Lum and I am the Chief Financial Officer of Whitespot Limited, which owns and franchises 117 Whitespot and Triple O's restaurants in British Columbia. We are a proud owned BC company in existence since 1928 and love to serve all the British Columbians in the province. Welcome you to our restaurant. Whitespot is a member of both Restaurants Canada and the BC Restaurant and Food Services, two associations that advocate for British Columbia's diverse and dynamic restaurant food service industry. I wish to thank Mark Van Shallwitz and Ian Tossinson from these two associations who work tirelessly on behalf of the BC restaurant industry. And the reason we are here for today's announcement. Today's announcement by Minister Ravi Kalan on behalf of the BC government to extend the delivery fee cap that food delivery companies can charge restaurants is very welcome news to British Columbia restaurants. Since the start of the pandemic back in early 2020, many restaurants like ours have seen a lift in third party delivery sales, but these sales come at a very high commission rates. The delivery fee cap that will be capped at 15% plus 5% for others related fees for a total of 20% will have a significant impact on restaurants that use delivery companies to service their customers. In my opinion, 20% commission is still too high, but at least it will allow restaurants to earn some profit on delivery sales. The restaurant industry has been one of the hardest hit sectors during the pandemic and restaurants have adapted and complied with numerous provincial health orders to keep restaurants safe for guests and staff alike. BC restaurants that have implemented and adhered to strict safety protocols have been acknowledged by the provincial health authorities as places that are safe to visit. So my message to the public is go support your local restaurant that whether you dine in, order takeout, or order from a delivery company like Uber Eats, DoorDash, or skipped dishes. Communities need restaurants, restaurants need your support. In closing, thank you to the government of British Columbia for your collaboration on this initiative with the restaurant industry as we work together to find solutions in these challenging times. Best and safe wishes to all British Columbians during this holiday season. Thank you. Thank you very much Kelvin and to White Spot and to you for sharing the importance of the food service delivery cap extension to your restaurants and customers. Local restaurants and businesses play an absolute crucial role in our communities and I encourage everyone to keep safely supporting them and ordering meals through the holiday season and beyond. I now would like to invite Minister Callan back to the podium to take any questions from the media. Thank you to all our speakers. As a reminder to me, Joe on the phone, please press star one to ask a question. That's star one to enter the queue. You will be limited to one question and one follow up. Our first question today is from Binder Sajan CTV. Please go ahead. Hi, yeah, I'm just wondering with this 21% delivery fees and is the government at this time considering other supports given the Omicron various that is here? Thank you for that question Binder and right now we've heard and I'm sure Kelvin can give us more concrete numbers on what White Spot has seen, but we've seen and heard from businesses that are well over 30% being charged over 30% and businesses can't afford that. I mean many restaurants that I spoke into they say over 30% they're actually losing money on every single order that goes out and because they feel that they're in a position where they have to rely on it, they feel vulnerable but all that White Spot discuss and explain how they were impacted directly. I would also say that we're proud of the supports we put in place, the liquor pricing that we talked about reduces the cost for liquor for businesses by 25% and that's permanent. So that's a measure that we brought in during the pandemic but now we'll stay as a permanent measure. Of course we're going to continue to see how the pandemic evolves and if there's additional supports that are needed but today's announcement is considerable. So I'll bring Kelvin up to answer the follow up that question. Thank you Ravi. Yeah the 20% cap is highly significant. You know the margins for restaurants and the restaurants and Mark will tell you for certain restaurants is lower than 5%, sometimes 5 to 10%. So when we think that a delivery company is earning 20% that's still I think a profitable margin that they're realizing on takeout sales. So for sure the 20% is acceptable for restaurants and I think acceptable for delivery companies as well. Binder did you have a follow up? We know I'm good, thank you. Our next question today is from Dominique Lebeck, Radio Canada. Please go ahead. Yeah no thanks for that question and as I've highlighted that this announcement is considerable. We heard from the restaurant sector, we've heard from Mark, we've heard from Kelvin that the food delivery cap was a big piece for them to ensure that they can navigate these challenging times as people become anxious and don't want to go to restaurants. They are actually ordering more food and so that's good for the restaurants but if the caps are not in place then many businesses will be losing money on every order. So this way we ensure that the service delivery companies can continue to make a profit but our restaurants can also navigate this challenging time and as the pandemic evolves we'll continue to look at additional supports that we may need to put in place but for now this is a considerably important announcement for the hospitality and the restaurant sector. Dominique did you have a follow up? No French today I'm sorry I can I can tell you in Punjabi if that helps. Our next question today will be from Parmeet Kamra, Red FM. Hi good morning Mr. Kalio, this is Parmeet from Red FM. Actually I just heard about the announcement which you have made today which is really commendable but as we all know that more restrictions are implemented in BC from today onwards and as we know new year parties are suspended and new restrictions could lead to cancellation of already booked events especially in banquet halls and as they are not getting directly benefit from the today's announcement are you planning to reach out to help them in some way? Well we're you know in British Columbia we know that the measures that have been brought in place of course businesses will be impacted for new years but we wanted to give them plenty of time and notice so that they can not order food and not be stuck with a bill later on and that was the number one asked from many of the restaurants that I've spoken to which was give us notice let us know so we can plan and we've done that we also know that businesses can continue to operate we can continue to go we encourage people to go it's a safe environment for people to visit a local restaurant we have some limits in place but businesses can continue to operate now if that were to change of course we will look at additional supports we're proud in British Columbia we have the highest per capita supports for businesses and people in the entire country and I think that put us in a good place we've made the commitment that we're always going to be there to support any sector that's impacted by the pandemic and and we're going to continue to monitor and see that as we go forward Armeet did you have a follow-up? I know I do thank you so much thank you our next question it's from Richard Zussman Global News please go ahead Minister Ontario and Quebec have gone to past capacity at restaurants and bars were probably a week behind them in terms of Omicron after that week British Columbians feel safe going to a restaurant at 100 capacity? Well Richard that's you know whether a person feels safe to go to a restaurant or not is up to the patrons I know some people feel very comfortable and they in fact are going out with their close relatives for a meal at a restaurant as opposed to having that at their home and there's some people who don't feel comfortable and we leave that to people to decide I know that the measure measures that have been put in place by provincial health office are in place now we don't make those decisions provincial health makes decisions according to ensuring that people can remain safe and and then we can continue to operate in a safe way if things were to change of course we would look at additional measures but those are decisions not made by by myself or my colleagues it's decisions made by provincial health based on the the data that they have Richard did you have a follow-up No I'm good thank you thank you that's all the questions we have for today so that will conclude today's event thank you everyone for joining us great thank you