British Columbia has removed the order requiring masks to be worn in all indoor public spaces as of March 11, and the province says that the proof of COVID-19 vaccination requirement is likely to be lifted on April 8. However, individual businesses will still be allowed to require masks if the owner decides they would like to, and the […]
Ontario continues to lift its COVID-19 public health measures. As of March 21, mask mandates will no longer be in effect in most settings, including restaurants. The dropping of mask mandates will see the province take the next step in removing restrictions after it recently ditched mandated proof of vaccination and reopened businesses at full […]
By Tom Nightingale Ontario’s mandatory proof-of-vaccination system was scrapped on March 1. Whatever one thinks of the mandates that had been in place for nearly six months, the fact is that this is another decision made by the government at relatively short notice for one of the most beleaguered industries impacted during the pandemic. “It […]
By Tom Nightingale The rollercoaster that Ontario restaurants have been on throughout the last two years makes Canada’s Wonderland look tame by comparison. Operators and staff have had to get used to drastic shifts to how they can operate, often at short notice, on numerous occasions throughout the pandemic. The latest of those came earlier […]
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, […]
Several Canadian provinces are tweaking their plans for the next few weeks and relieving some of their COVID-19 restrictions. On February 8, the Alberta government announced that effective at midnight that night, it is scrapping its mandatory proof of vaccination policy. Premier Jason Kenney said his “careful and prudent” plan will allow the province to […]
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 […]
Following earlier moves by Quebec and Ontario since late December, New Brunswick has become the latest province to ban indoor dining amid the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Starting January 14, dining rooms across New Brunswick will be closed as just one of numerous new restrictions introduced. The provincial government announced on January 13 that all […]
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 […]
Kingston, Ont. has introduced a week’s worth of new restrictions aimed at curbing the city’s alarming COVID-19 infection rate. The city is limiting gatherings to a maximum of five people and enforcing new measures on restaurants in response to the spread of the Omicron variant. Introduced with just hours’ notice and effective December 13 at […]
