Ontario’s restaurant industry calls on financial support from provincial government

Advertisement

Advertise with us

TORONTO - Ontario's restaurant industry is demanding the provincial government pick up a $100-million tab following the abrupt closure of indoor and outdoor dining last week.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/04/2021 (1982 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO – Ontario’s restaurant industry is demanding the provincial government pick up a $100-million tab following the abrupt closure of indoor and outdoor dining last week.

Restaurants Canada and the Ontario Restaurant Hotel & Motel Association say that the province’s decision to pull the “emergency brake” to slow the spread of COVID-19 has significantly hurt the industry.

In an open letter issued Tuesday, the organizations say that reopening and closing costs alone add up to $100 million across Ontario.

Wasted inventory, staffing costs, and patio setup and takedown are some of the expenses restaurants have incurred.

The letter addressed to Premier Doug Ford says that financial burden can be eased in several ways including making further funding available through the Ontario Small Business Support.

It also suggests introducing a sector-specific program for covering reopening and closure costs, extending the property tax and energy cost rebate programs, and immediately ending the six per cent markup that restaurants pay for alcohol from the LCBO.

The letter also asks that patio dining remain available as an alternative to private gatherings.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 6, 2021.

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Parts of River Heights hammered by storm

Melissa Martin 4 minute read Preview

Parts of River Heights hammered by storm

Melissa Martin 4 minute read Monday, Sep. 7, 2026

A powerful storm cut a swath of destruction through River Heights on Sunday, leaving much of the area without power.

Nobody was hurt in the storm.

By the time it subsided, parts of the quiet neighbourhood, especially Borebank and Lindsay streets between Grant and Taylor, had been ravaged: power lines downed, Manitoba Hydro poles toppled, trees splintered and crashed down on vehicles and homes.

In one case, a vehicle was flipped into a yard and sat under a partially downed tree. Shingles were stripped from roofs. Some residents described looking out during the storm and seeing power lines ablaze and the blue glow of electricity arcing over their backyards.

Read
Monday, Sep. 7, 2026

Grieving families, local leaders want review of Interlake intersection after teens die in crash

Chris Kitching 8 minute read Preview

Grieving families, local leaders want review of Interlake intersection after teens die in crash

Chris Kitching 8 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 6:34 PM CDT

A two-vehicle crash that killed four teenage friends in the Interlake Sunday night prompted outpourings of grief in several communities and calls for safety improvements at the intersection, which was also the site of a death in July.

Recent high school graduates Maya Borsa and Chloe Vermette, both 18, were identified by their families as victims of the collision at Highway 8 and Provincial Road 229, just west of Winnipeg Beach.

“(Chloe) was a very bubbly, loving personality. Always giving, always caring. Her friends meant the world to her,” said her mother, Veronique Vermette, who struggled to comprehend the tragedy when she went to the scene Monday. “We sat in the rain for hours, and it blew my mind that four lives were taken.”

The teens’ parents are waiting for RCMP to provide more information about the cause of the crash. Chloe, who graduated from Windsor Park Collegiate in Winnipeg in July, was driving one of the vehicles, her mother said.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 6:34 PM CDT

Restaurant industry calls on financial support

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Tuesday, Apr. 6, 2021

TORONTO - Ontario's restaurant industry is demanding the provincial government pick up a $100-million tab following the abrupt closure of indoor and outdoor dining last week.

Restaurants Canada and the Ontario Restaurant Hotel & Motel Association say that the province's decision to pull the "emergency brake" to slow the spread of COVID-19 has significantly hurt the industry.

In an open letter issued Tuesday, the organizations say that reopening and closing costs alone add up to $100 million across Ontario.

Wasted inventory, staffing costs, and patio setup and takedown are some of the expenses restaurants have incurred.

DNA on beer can helps solve killing

Dean Pritchard 4 minute read Preview

DNA on beer can helps solve killing

Dean Pritchard 4 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

Two years after 74-year-old James Monaghan was stabbed in his Sherburn Street home, DNA found on a beer can led police to his killer.

Shara Harper, 29, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and on Tuesday was sentenced to six years in prison.

A neighbour found Monaghan dead in his home on July 29, 2022. He had been stabbed twice in the chest and back.

The investigation into Monaghan’s killing had stalled until June 2024, when DNA found on an empty beer can in Monaghan’s home was confirmed to be a match for Harper.

Read
2:00 AM CDT

Hydro working to restore service to pockets of River Heights

Malak Abas 6 minute read Preview

Hydro working to restore service to pockets of River Heights

Malak Abas 6 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 8:33 PM CDT

When Sheila Fenby’s basement began filling with water Sunday night, it felt like déjà vu.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 8:33 PM CDT

Letters, Sept. 9

6 minute read Preview

Letters, Sept. 9

6 minute read 3:00 AM CDT

As River Heights residents caught in a swath of rain and wind on Sunday evening, we survived 10 hours with no power after a big boom and an electric arc favoured us with a strike in our back lane. So far, we have had two brief additional outages (Monday) and in the early hours of (Tuesday) morning. This doesn’t begin to compare with the damage on Mathers Avenue, which is still under repair.

Read
3:00 AM CDT