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QUEBEC — Saying a shadow is hanging over their future, the association representing the province’s restaurant owners has issued a cry for help for more foreign workers to fill the jobs of cooks, servers and kitchen staff.

“We would be accused of sensationalizing the situation if we said all restaurants will close,” François Meunier, vice-president of the Association Restauration Québec, told a legislature committee examining proposed immigration levels for the next three years.

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“But if we don’t get a larger share of immigrants, permanent or temporary, we are actually risking the employment of Quebecers.

“I went all around Quebec this summer, I saw restaurants which are closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Their profitability is affected by this.

“We have the clients, but I can’t find the staff to serve them.”

Representing 5,550 restaurant owners, the association said their situation is critical and quoted Statistics Canada data indicating in 2018 there were 14,000 vacant jobs for cooks, waiters and kitchen staff across Quebec.