Temporary Measures to Help The Restaurant Industry

Monday, 6 July 2020 at 09:28

Under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, it will allow cities to quickly pass temporary bylaws for the creation and extension of patios and allow covered outdoor dining areas to serve customers.

ONTARIO - The provincial government is creating a new emergency order to help restaurants and bar owners reopen and serve more customers safely.

This will be under s.7.0.2 (4) of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, allowing cities to quickly pass temporary bylaws for the creation and extension of patios and allow covered outdoor dining areas to serve customers.

This was in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health to make this decision in order to keep Ontarians safe as the province continues to recover and continue activities as part of Ontario's Framework for Reopening the Province.

Premier Doug Ford says these establishments are important to the enconomy in Ontario.

"Businesses across the province are demonstrating that we can still enjoy our beautiful Ontario summer while protecting the health and safety of their patrons. Restaurants and bars are an important part of our economy, and a great driver of employment. I am proud to say that we will continue to support them as our province reopens and recovers."

Under the Planning Act, the process to pass temporary use bylaws to create or extend a patio could take several weeks or more.
While restaurants are only allowed to host dine-in guests on outdoor patios under Stage 2 right now, this exemption under the emergency order will cut red tape and reduce the process time for passing these bylaws to a matter of days.

Cities would still be responsible for compliance activities and ensuring proper health and safety practices, like proper physical distancing.
The government also amended an emergency order to clarify that outdoor dining areas can open if they have a roof, canopy, tent, awning or other covering. At least two full sides of the outdoor dining area must be open to the outdoors and must not be blocked in any way. If there is a retractable roof in the outdoor dining area, it must be fully open and at least one side must be open to the outdoors and must not be blocked in any way.

Most of Ontario has moved into Stage 2 recovery, except for the Municipality of Leamington and the Town of Kingsville, which remain in Stage 1.
On June 24th, the Province announced the extension of the Declaration of Emergency to July 15th, allowing the province to continue to make or change emergency orders under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act.

The government continues to review all these emergency orders to determine when and if it is safe to amend or lift them as restrictions are eased and more places in the province reopen in a safe and measured way.

You can find a full list of emergency orders here.