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WHAT HAS CFIG DONE FOR YOU LATELY?

CFIG led the fight over the past three years in maintaining pressure on the government to bring forward further reductions in interchange fees. The credit card companies, banks and payment processors, the 3 hands in your wallet, continue to levy fees higher than other jurisdictions. Our efforts resulted in Visa lowering their grocery rates to 1.23% and MasterCard to 1.22%. In September 2018, Finance Minister Morneau announced further measures. An additional drop in the overall rate to 1.4%—along with cuts to premium card rates. This will help ensure that the lower rate for independent grocers to 1.22% will actually be realized. In addition, the government promised in the most recent federal election, to eliminate the interchange fees that are paid on the HST/GST. So 2020 will see further progress in the ongoing battle to narrow the gap between what is paid by small businesses and large chains.
NEW RATES EFFECTIVE STARTING APRIL 2020.

In 2019, when it was announced that Loblaw had received a $12 million grant from Canada’s Ministry of Environment, we learned that the program they accessed had been concluded and in any event, there was a minimum $1 million spend on the part of the applicant. CFIG advocated vigorously to Ottawa that this was unacceptable. As a result, new energy support programs have been launched, geared largely to small- and medium-sized businesses.

CFIG & COALITION WIN TAX REDUCTION

CFIG and the Small Business Matters Coalition we led, pushed for a small business tax reduction and further support for business investment. CFIG was invited to join the Prime Minister when the Federal government lowered the small business tax rate to 9% (now the lowest in the G7) effective in January 2019. As well, the government brought forward the ACCI which allows businesses to write o investments in the first year of purchase, as opposed to a multi-year write off.

: INDEPENDENTS GET A FAIR SLICE

The implementation of the Canada-EU Trade agreement, known as CETA, will bring in several thousand tonnes of European cheese products into Canada with no tariff. Due to CFIG efforts, the government determined that 30% of the allocation would go to small- and medium-sized retailers and distributors, while 20% would go to the larger retailers and distributors. This is a five-year process and over this period, CFIG will be monitoring the implementation.

Retail and supplier consolidation has in some cases distorted fair competitive practices in the food industry. CFIG continues to raise the pro‑le of this issue and the need to ensure that independent retail grocers are not singled out and treated unfairly in their dealings with suppliers. CFIG believes that a Code of Conduct for the grocery industry, will help provide more fairness and transparency in our industry.

CFIG advocated to the federal government the need to recognize the unique challenges of a small business grocer. When new labelling requirements were imposed on the food industry, all products produced in-store or in a commissary for sale in a one-store operation, were exempted from nutritional and allergen labelling requirements. This has saved single- and multi-store grocers thousands of dollars annually. In January 2019, when the Safe Food for Canadians Act was proclaimed, CFIG’s eorts ensured that this exemption was maintained, in the face of opposition from some groups who wanted the exemption repealed.

BEER AND WINE

HERE’S TO YOU!
As the current Ontario government moves towards opening up the sale of beer and wine into all grocery stores in the province, CFIG is fighting to ensure fairness in the new framework. A system that in our view needs minimum pricing, increased margins and more flexibility for cross merchandising. Other measures that CFIG has already won include lower AGCO inspection fees (slashed for independents from $7000 to $1000) and exemption from providing a letter of credit.