Ontario restaurant owners warn Ford government 'civil disobedience' is coming without capacity changes
Ontario restaurateurs are expressing their frustration with the provincial government after a cabinet minister failed to attend a meeting to discuss capacity limits in the hospitality industry, and staff asked attendees not to raise their concerns in the media.
Restaurant owners launched a concerted campaign over the Thanksgiving long weekend to lift COVID-19 restrictions on their businesses to bring them in line with large sports venues and concert halls, which can now operate free of capacity and physical distancing measures as long as vaccination requirements are enforced.
Currently, while restaurants are not subject to capacity limits they must maintain two meters of distance between tables which, the industry says, effectively limits the number of diners.
Meanwhile, The Scotiabank Arena – which will host the Toronto Maple Leafs home opener on Oct. 13 – can welcome nearly 20,000 fans without the need to sit several seats apart or maintain any form of distancing.
According to industry insiders, the Ford government quickly sought to quell the visceral anger over the weekend by convening a virtual meeting with Tourism and Culture minister Lisa MacLeod on Tuesday – a meeting which derailed almost immediately after MacLeod failed to attend without explanation.
"We were invited by the minister to attend this call and then we were told it was a scheduling conflict," said Paul Bognar, the CEO of Sir Corp which owns Jack Astor's Bar and Grill and Scaddabush Italian Kitchen and Bar.
"There's 450,000 people employed in the restaurant businesses in Ontario," Bognar told CP24. "We've been the hardest hit sector, you would think that would be a priority."
John Sinopoli, the founder of Save Hospitality CA, said while the group hoped to meet with both MacLeod and Health Minister Christine Elliott, they were faced with political staff instead who, they say, provided little insight into what the restaurant industry could expect.
"They literally have no plan for us, that was the answer," Sinopoli told CTV News Toronto. "Twice, we got crickets from their entire staff."
"From the call this morning, we realized they haven't even given us a second thought."
Instead, Sinopoli says, attendees were told not to discuss the contents of the conversation with the media until the province finalized a plan for the sector – a request that was ignored.
The restaurant industry has been trying to gauge, among other things, a timeframe for when restrictions would be eased, the benchmarks that would be used to lift restrictions and what information has been driving the government's decision making.
"We're trying to get to the bottom of either the logic, the scientific data, the historical data, any data for the decision that was made that nobody can understand," Bognar said.
Without a plan, Sinopoli warned the government that it could soon be faced with "civil disobedience."
"Many people in our industry are talking about civil disobedience with respect to these regulations and restrictions of indoor dining," Sinopoli said.
"If you're not going to give us a reason behind the policy and you're not going to tell us that there even is a plan, then we can just assume negligent in terms of our industry."
"They've literally left us no option."
Multiple calls to Minister Macleod's office by CTV News Toronto went unanswered.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Security guard shot, seriously injured outside of Drake's Toronto mansion
A security guard working at Drake’s Bridle Path mansion in Toronto was seriously injured in a shooting outside the residence early Tuesday morning, police said.
King Charles too busy to see son Prince Harry during U.K. trip
Prince Harry will not be seeing his father King Charles during his current visit to Britain as the monarch will be too busy, Harry's spokesperson said on Tuesday.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Turfing Poilievre from House a clear sign of desperation by Trudeau Liberals
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
Your body needs these three forms of movement every week
Movement is movement, right? Not exactly. Here’s what your body is looking for in addition to your morning walk or yoga session, according to experts.
Six Canadian children repatriated from detention in Syria, Global Affairs Canada says
The Global Affairs Department says six Canadian children have been repatriated from detention in northeastern Syria.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Quebec to limit sperm donations per donor after 3 men from same family father hundreds of children
Quebec is looking at tightening the regulations around sperm donation in the province following the release of a documentary that revealed three men from the same family fathered hundreds of children.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
TikTok, ByteDance sue to block U.S. law seeking sale or ban of app
TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance said on Tuesday they filed suit in U.S. federal court seeking to block a law signed by President Joe Biden that would force the divestiture of the short video app used by 170 million Americans or ban its use.