Help may be on the way for Ontario restaurants trying to get by during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The provincial government plans to introduce the Supporting Local Restaurants Act of 2020 on Thursday, which would put caps on delivery fees charged to restaurants where indoor dining is not permitted due to pandemic restrictions.
Delivery fees for those restaurants would be capped at 15 per cent, with an overall 20 per cent cap inclusive of all fees.
Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction Prabmeet Sarkaria said asking restaurants to endure these hefty fees is too much.
"Ontario's small and independent restaurants have shouldered an outsized share of COVID-19's economic burdens," said Sankaria, the MPP for Brampton South. "But through it all, they've continued to serve our communities, our families and have lifted our spirits. With this legislation, our government is helping local businesses stay in business and providing a solution that will help our local restaurants when every little bit helps."
The introduction was made after lobbying from Liberal MPP Amanda Simard of Glengarry-Prescott-Russell. Right now, delivery fees for Ontario eateries can be as much as 30 per cent. Toronto City Council had also asked the Ford government for a fee cap last month.
In addition to the capping of delivery fees, the legislation would impose fines of up to $10-million on delivery companies that ignore the law and give delivery employees protection for any compensation. Restaurant owners will have the option of filing an online complaint.
