Ontario restaurants slam province's decision to lift capacity restrictions for only some venues
Restaurants and bars have been excluded from the list of venues in Ontario that are allowed again to operate at full capacity, leaving many owners shocked and disappointed.
Tino Bianchi, who owns restaurants in the Greater Toronto Area, says he feels like they are being "targeted" by the province.
"It feels very unfair," Bianchi told CP24 Saturday afternoon.
"We've been through a rollercoaster ride throughout the lockdowns, the shutdowns, being partially opened at times. And it just feels unfair that other venues are allowed … full capacity."
The Ontario government announced late Friday afternoon that starting Oct. 9, it is "cautiously lifting" capacity restrictions at several settings requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination. They include spectator areas of facilities for sports and recreational fitness, cinemas, theatres, concert arenas, horse and car racing tracks, and film and TV productions with studio audiences.
The changes also apply to meeting and event spaces, but indoor capacity is limited to the number that would enable physical distancing.
The province said masking, screening and collecting information to support contact tracing would continue in these settings, while physical distancing will not be required with some exceptions.
The lifting of capacity limits comes as the Toronto Raptors and Toronto Maple Leafs get ready to open their respective seasons. It would allow them to play in front of a packed crowd at Scotiabank Arena for the first time since the pandemic began.
"It's unfair that a venue like an arena can pack in 20,000 people, and people can be sitting side by side," Bianchi said.
"It just feels unfair that big corporations and big box stores are allowed to operate at full capacity, and the small business owners are left in the dust."
He added that it is now time for the government to let restaurants operate at full capacity as they begin their recovery from the pandemic.
"We work much thinner margins at the end of the day. And it's already challenging with prices of food and other inflation. It's really important that we can get back to trying to run our businesses at a capacity that will make us survive," Bianchi said.
In a statement to CP24 Saturday, Alexandra Hilkene, a Ministry of Health spokesperson, said restaurants, bars and other food and drink establishments "do not have hard capacity limits." She added those establishments are limited to the number of people that can maintain physical distancing.
"That is because they are higher risk settings – prolonged close contact in enclosed spaces where face coverings are removed for the entire duration when seated," Hilkene said.
"The Chief Medical Officer of Health will continue to monitor the data and evaluate when it may be safe to consider lifting limits in other settings that require proof of vaccination."
Following the announcement, Restaurants Canada expressed their disappointment and renewed its call for all remaining capacity limits for restaurants and bars to be lifted.
"It's frustrating," Restaurants Canada vice-president James Rilett said in an interview with CP24 Saturday morning.
"We talked to the government. We thought they heard us. (We) thought they knew that the industry is in peril that (we) need help. At the first opportunity to help us, they just helped the big, large businesses and left small businesses in a lurch."
He said keeping restaurant capacity restrictions in place "makes no sense." Restaurants are also requiring their customers to provide proof of vaccination to enter their establishments.
"We don't understand why Ontario is singling us out to continue to have restrictions when 20,000 screaming fans can be shoulder to shoulder," Rilett said.
"It's hard for me not to have my disappointment show. Our restaurants are suffering every day, and it just continues. There's no hope that this will be lifted anytime soon."
Dan Kelly, the president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses, said his group had received many angry messages from restaurants, gyms, dance studios over the capacity changes.
"To be clear, it is good news that Ontario is lifting capacity limits. But doing so for the big guys and not the small makes no sense and leads to questions, once again, as to why a government would so actively favour large firms over small," Kelly tweeted Saturday.
Correction
This article was edited from a previous version that misstated the given name of restaurant owner Tino Bianchi.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.