Ontario restaurant owner 'infuriated' after walking by busy bar at Toronto airport
The owner of an Ontario restaurant says he was "infuriated" when he saw more than 20 people eating at a bar in Toronto Pearson International Airport this week while indoor dining is banned for most of the province.
Adam Matthews, owner of 72 Bolton Sports Café in Bobcaygeon, Ont., said he was passing through the airport on Monday morning when he noticed people eating at Beerhive in Terminal 3.
He says he took a photo that shows more than 20 people sitting at the restaurant. Most people in the photo are not wearing a mask and there appears to be limited physical distancing and no plexiglass.
Restaurants in Ontario were ordered by the provincial government to close for indoor dining on Jan. 5 as COVID-19 cases hit record levels. Indoor dining will be allowed to resume on Jan. 31, with capacity limits in place.
During the closure, indoor dining at Toronto Pearson was never ordered to close.
"It's double standard," Matthews told CTV News Toronto. "It feels like anything the government controls, those businesses are wide open, while all us small businesses are at their mercy."
According to a spokesperson for the Greater Toronto Airport Authority (GTAA), indoor dining is permitted post-security at 50 per cent capacity, with parties of up to 10 people permitted to sit together.
The GTAA said indoor dining at airport restaurants is only open to same-day travellers, and therefore all people are fully vaccinated. They said when sitting down at a restaurant, passengers and employees are only permitted to remove their masks when they are in the act of consuming food or a beverage.
Matthews said it was a "slap in the face" to walk by the bar and see no plexiglass set up between guests, especially since he was forced to spend money to install it at his restaurant.
"You walk into these airport bars and there is nothing," he said. "There is no plexiglass up, you just sit down and eat. It’s absolutely infuriating."
The GTAA spokesperson said regular audits are preformed on food and beverages locations within the airport to ensure they are complying with public health guidelines.
"GTAA has been in contact with OTG regarding this photo," a spokesperson said.
OTG is the company that manages the operation of restaurants and bars in many North American airports, including Toronto Pearson.
CTV News Toronto reached out to OTG for a statement but has not received a response.
"All my colleagues, they're all hurting because of indoor dining restrictions," Matthews said. "And then you walk into the airport and it feels like they're doing whatever they want."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.