Canada & Ontario invest $900K to improve meat processing

The federal government and the government of Ontario are together investing $900,000 through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership to launch an innovative tool to connect meat and poultry farmers with abattoirs that have available meat processing capacity and to support recruitment, retention and training initiatives in the industry. The new Farmer-Processor Connections Initiative, led by Meat and […]

Ontario looking to make naloxone kits mandatory at bars

The Ontario government has introduced legislation that would require high-risk workplaces to have life-saving naloxone kits on site. Those workplaces deemed high risk for opioid overdoses would include bars and nightclubs, as well as construction sites. A government release says that between March 2020 and January 2021, around 2,500 people died from opioid-related causes. The government also […]

Canada investing in agri-food careers in wake of labour crunch

Amid the labour shortage that has plagued food production and processing, the governments of Canada and Ontario have announced they are investing up to $4 million to promote agri-food careers. A release says the investment will “help build a strong and competitive agri-food workforce that will ensure people can continue to access the safe and […]

Ontario lifts restaurant capacity limits, vaccine mandates to follow

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced on February 14 that the province is lifting all restaurant capacity limits starting at 12:01 a.m. on February 17, three days ahead of schedule. Mandatory proof of vaccination for restaurant guests will then be scrapped from March 1. Last month, Ontario had released its plan to lift public health measures and restrictions, […]

Ontario restaurants can reopen indoor dining from January 31

After a brief period of lockdown, Ontario restaurants can reopen for indoor dining once again starting on January 31. Eateries in the province were ordered to shut their dining rooms from January 5 for a minimum period of 26 days. That left outdoor dining, takeout, drive-thru, and delivery as the only operations still on the […]

Ontario joins Quebec in shutting indoor dining once again

Updated January 10, 2021 Restaurant owners and staff would be forgiven for feeling transported back to 2020 in the early days of 2022, as indoor dining shuts down again in some areas in response to the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Quebec blinked first, and Ontario soon followed. The closures are an attempt to stifle the […]

Ontario’s minimum wage overhaul sparks industry warnings

Ontario’s announcement that it will be raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour from January 1, 2022, and eliminating the liquor servers’ wage has sparked disbelief, frustration, and warning from the foodservice and hospitality industries. As part of its 2021 Fall Economic Statement, the provincial government announced on November 2 that it will introduce […]

Ontario restaurants finally free of capacity restrictions

Ontario restaurants have no COVID-19-related indoor capacity restrictions to adhere to for the first time in over a year as of Monday, October 25. Restaurants, bars, and other food and drink establishments, as well as many other settings where patrons/customers are required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination, are now free to operate without capacity limits. […]

Governments investing $3M to protect Ontario pork sector

The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing nearly $3 million in three new initiatives as part of a coordinated effort to enhance biosecurity and support the Ontario pork sector and its African swine fever (ASF) prevention and emergency preparedness efforts. With the foodservice supply chain already stretched thin, there are concerns that African swine […]

Ontario wants to give food delivery drivers washroom access

The Ontario government has tabled unprecedented legislation that would allow food delivery workers and other couriers to access bathrooms at businesses where they are delivering or picking up items. The legislation, if passed, would apply to couriers and truck drivers as well as food delivery workers. “This is something most people in Ontario take for […]