Statement in Response to the Exclusion of Restaurants from Ontario’s Lifting of Capacity Limits

“Toronto region’s restaurants have faced immense hardship as they adhered to some of the strictest capacity restrictions and extended lockdowns in the world. Our restaurants employ hundreds of thousands of individuals, contribute immensely to our economy, are the lifeblood of our main streets and an important tourist attraction.  

While the Board welcomes Ontario’s announcement to lift restrictions for many businesses, it is a disappointing and inexplicable oversight that restaurants were left out of the equation.   

The Board has long lobbied for a vaccine accreditation system that would allow the province of Ontario, which is surging ahead in vaccination rates, to remove the complex, uneven and burdensome capacity restrictions that our small businesses have shouldered, in favour of a simple, interoperable, vaccine accreditation system that would allow our non-essential businesses to fully re-open for vaccinated individuals.   

As the province begins to explore variations of a vaccine accreditation system, we ask that it consider the spirit of the tool and urgently remove restrictive capacity limitations placed uniquely on Ontario’s restaurants.”