NDP calls for government to amend delivery app fee caps bill as Ford, Liberals exclude every restaurant outside GTA

QUEEN’S PARK — The NDP is calling for the bill to cap restaurant delivery app fees to be amended immediately to include all restaurants in Ontario, after the Ford Conservatives and Del Duca Liberals teamed up to exclude every single restaurant outside Toronto and Peel.

“Does Doug Ford and Steven Del Duca not know that restaurants in Niagara, North Bay, Ottawa and York region are hurting? Do they believe those hardworking small businesses deserve to be gouged?” NDP Deputy Leader John Vanthof asked. “The NDP has been fighting for a cap on third-party delivery apps since June, and we believe those protections need to apply to the whole province, not just a few restaurants for a limited time.”

Bill 236 will not help a single restaurant outside of Toronto or Peel even though restaurants across Ontario have been calling for a cap on food delivery app fees. Those companies have been charging upwards of 30 per cent. The Ford government used its power Monday morning to skip the committee stage of the bill in order to prevent amendments after the NDP sent them a letter Monday morning asking for those amendments. The Liberals have now tried twice to rush it into law, guaranteeing the exclusion of every single last restaurant outside Toronto and Peel.

“Why would the Liberals be so desperate to exclude small businesses that are hurting? Small businesses throughout Ontario deserve protection from gouging,” said Vanthof.

NDP letter to Ford government