LILLEY: Restaurant owners are furious that the Ford government, Minister MacLeod skips the call

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Ontario restaurant owners, already furious at the Ford government for lifting capacity limits for stadiums, theaters and other large venues, were outraged Tuesday when not a single minister appeared on a government-organized conference call. to defend the measure or even offer an explanation. .

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The words used to describe the meeting ranged from embarrassing to horrendous, including a series of unprintable expletives.

While the restorers believed they would speak to Heritage Minister Lisa MacLeod on Tuesday morning, they instead stayed with her staff and the prime minister’s office.

MacLeod’s office had requested the call over the weekend, and the restaurant owners hoped she would be there.

As owners and operators expressed frustration on the call, including the lack of ministerial involvement, Carlo Oliviero, director of stakeholder relations in Prime Minister Ford’s office, pleaded with participants not to speak to the media.

Late Friday afternoon, the government issued a press release titled “Ontario Cautiously Raises Capacity Limits on Select Configurations.”

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That press release detailed how nearly 87% of Ontario’s eligible population received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and nearly 82% received a second dose.

He also described how the requirement to show proof of vaccination was making openings safer to be in.

Of course, all of the facts the government laid out on Friday apply to restaurants as well, and you’re rarely sitting as close to someone in a restaurant as you are in a shoulder-to-shoulder seat in an arena or stadium.

Restaurant owners and operators were right to be angry and they were right to expect answers to their questions.

Unfortunately, they did not get them.

Time and again during the call, restaurateurs demanded to know what the government based its decision on, blaming the medical director, Dr. Kieran Moore.

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While Dr. Moore makes recommendations, it is the cabinet, led by Ford, that makes the real decisions.

At a news conference Tuesday morning, Rod Phillips, the minister for long-term care, was asked why the difference is treated in how crowded stadiums and empty restaurants are treated.

“Those facilities don’t have strict capacity limits, but they do have social distancing requirements,” Phillips said.

Could not be farther from the truth.

People are crammed into these sporting events, whether indoors or out and while it may technically be a requirement to wear a mask, that disappears as soon as a beer or hot dog is in hand.

With answers like that and bad decisions like the one that came out Friday, it’s no wonder the restaurant industry is furious.

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“It’s an extremely bad decision, we feel like we’re being attacked and we don’t know why,” said Paul Bogna, CEO of SIR Corp, the company behind brands like Jack Astor’s, Reds and Scaddabush.

Bognar was not alone. All restaurant operators contacted on or off the registry were equally angry and frustrated.

“It is extremely disappointing, frustrating and has no scientific backing,” said Larry Issacs, president of the Firkin Group of Pubs.

“I feel like the Ford government has turned its back on restaurants,” added Michael Hunter, partner at Antler Kitchen and Bar in Toronto.

Prime Minister Ford has listened to many angry people in the industry and has promised to fix this, claiming he is on their side.

If that was really the case, it would have dealt with this properly last week rather than leaving the restaurant industry out of Friday’s announcement.

It was his decision; directs the cabinet table.

One thing several restaurateurs made clear in Tuesday’s call is that if they don’t get answers soon, plans are in the works to engage in civil disobedience and just open up.

It will be hard to blame them if they do.