7 minute read
Trouble is brewing at Ottawa’s craft breweries
When COVID hit, it really knocked the industry onto its heels. It was great the government deferred those taxes, and now that they’re coming due, there’s still a lot of debt to pay back. This will be an issue coming out of the pandemic — the ability to pay the
tax burden is going to be a huge barrier for most brewers. – Scott Simmons, president, Ontario Craft Brewers.
Tax crisis for crafters
BY DANI-ELLE DUBÉ
news@obj.ca
It’s enough to drive a brewer to drink.
Craft brewers around the region spent years cultivating their business models, only to see the keg run dry when the pandemic took hold. The economy may be coming back, but it’ll take years for the industry to recover.
Beau’s Brewing Co. told OBJ it lost half of its $30-million annual revenue when bars and events were shut down. Overflow Brewing Company said its profit has decreased by 85 per cent.
“We were really hitting our stride up until March 2019 when everything kind of happened,” Overflow co-owner Brad Fennell said. “The concerts in our taproom were booked out almost every day over the next year. We started building up our licensees with bars and restaurants across Ottawa. Things were going great.”
While things are opening up again, brewers now face a second challenge - this one government-induced. The province temporarily froze taxes for breweries but ended the program and called for brewers to pay their deferred taxes.
“When COVID hit, it really knocked the industry onto its heels,” said Scott Simmons, president of Ontario Craft Brewers. “It was great the government deferred those taxes, and now that they’re coming due, there’s still a lot of debt to pay back. This will be an issue coming out of the pandemic — the ability to pay the tax burden is going to be a huge barrier for most brewers.”
Simmons said there were 322 craft breweries in Ontario before the pandemic. Industry sales dropped as much as 77 per cent through the early days of the pandemic, with costs still mounting as reluctant drinkers opt to stay home rather than go out. Breweries are working on new business models to boost their revenue as the pandemic’s fourth wave further reduces capacity limits at bars and restaurants.
Overflow set up an e-commerce website to sell its beer just before the pandemic. It didn’t gain much momentum at first, but it did pick up speed during the pandemic and ended up accounting for 95 per cent of sales.
Online revenue is substantial, Fennell said, but profits are low. The brewery is enhancing its customer base by stocking its products in 180 LCBOs and major Ontario grocery stores.
Beau’s, meanwhile, is looking to the skies for its salvation. It struck a deal with Porter Airlines to be its official beer - a new market that will get its brand in front of more consumers.
“We know that this is going to get our beer into lots of people’s hands,” Beau’s co-founder and CEO Steve Beauchesne said. “That volume alone is going to be big, but then on top, what we’re hoping is that a lot of people who’ve never heard of Beau’s before also get to try it. There’s still a lot of people in Toronto, in Halifax and (places) like that that still need to get introduced to our beer. This is a great way for us to do it.”
In 2019, Porter served 250,000 cans of beer from the previous supplier, Toronto’s Ace Hill brewery. While Beauchesne said it might take a while for volumes to hit that level as the airline industry recovers from the effects of COVID-19, he’s hoping the deal will help put his business on the map with beer lovers beyond its traditional customer base of eastern Ontario.
“We’ve never really done anything quite like this before,” Beauchesne said. “We’ve worked with lots of great partners over the years, but getting beers in planes is kind of a next-level thing for us.”
What to know about workplace vaccine policies
Despite the opposition by a vocal minority, it’s become increasingly expected across all facets of Canadian society that everyone who can get vaccinated against COVID-19 do so.
Passport programs are being implemented across the country by federal and provincial governments – making proof of vaccination the new price of admission.
The legal validity of mandatory COVID-19 vaccines in the workplace has yet to be determined by courts and tribunals (as of the date of this publication), but it continues to be a hot button issue.
“When imposing any kind of mandatory policy – even a vaccination policy – employers must make sure that their employees’ individual rights are protected,” said Malini Vijaykumar, a labour and employment lawyer at Nelligan Law.
These rights include, but are certainly not limited to, the right to fair and equitable treatment and the right to privacy.
Regardless of its content, having a workplace vaccination policy is highly recommended, said Jim Anstey, a labour and employment lawyer at Nelligan Law.
Employers who wish to implement a mandatory vaccination policy or even one that strongly encourages vaccination should include the following elements:
1Include a preamble that focuses on the need for the policy. General comments on health and safety obligations, the length of the pandemic, the appearance of new variants and the new wave that is upon us would be helpful. Be sure to reference any risks or vulnerabilities that are specific to your workplace, e.g. healthcare sector, long-term care, childcare, employees who are particularly vulnerable, etc.
2State your policy clearly so there is no confusion about what is expected, of whom and when. 3Describe the procedure for proving vaccination status.
4Recognize that vaccination status is personal health information and advise employees how the information will be collected, used and disclosed.
5Provide an overview of the consequences for those who do not respect the policy.
6Ensure you allow for accommodation requests for those who cannot get the vaccine. It is a good idea to reference applicable human rights legislation. You may also put employees on notice that if accommodation measures are implemented, that may result in them being treated differently than vaccinated employees.
7Provide employees with references to public health information about the pandemic and the available vaccines.
8Identify a contact person who will field questions about the policy and receive requests for accommodation.
For a more detailed explanation of the risks and competing interests associated with workplace vaccine policies, please see: https://nelliganlaw.ca/blog/employment-law/workplace-vaccination-policies-an-hr-minefield/
www.nelliganlaw.ca
Disclaimer: This is a complex issue with multiple overlapping spheres of rights and obligations. As a result, these graphics are intended as a guide only, to outline employees’ and employers’ various avenues and options for recourse. They should not be considered a substitute for qualified legal advice.
EMPLOYEE: What are my rights?
Right to a healthy andsafe workplace (and corresponding obligations to help keep the workplace healthy and safe) Right to accommodation if the employee has medical, religious, or other human-rightsbased grounds for refusing the vaccine (up to the point of undue hardship) –accommodations can include: working with regular testing and PPE, remote work, and/or a leave of absence
Right to fair representation by one’s union as per union policy and applicable law (including, potentially, the right to file a grievance against any negative measures or discipline received under the mandatory vaccination policy) Right to appropriate notice of a mandatory vaccination policy and, if terminated under that policy, the right to appropriate notice and/or severance on that termination (if required by the circumstances) Right to safeguards on collection, use and disclosure of personal information
EMPLOYER: What are my obligations?
Obligation to take reasonable precautions to ensure health and safety of workers
Obligation to accommodate employees with medical, religious, or other human-rightsbased grounds for refusing the vaccine (up to the point of undue hardship) –accommodations can include: working with regular testing and PPE, remote work, and/or a leave of absence Obligation to consult with union regarding terms of a mandatory vaccination policy (as required by the collective agreement) Obligation to provide appropriate notice of a mandatory vaccination policy and, if terminating an employee under that policy, to provide appropriate notice and/or severance on that termination (if required by the circumstances) Obligation to limit collection, use and disclosure of employees’ personal information in accordance with applicable law
