Associations push for G20 compensation

By Mike Deibert

TORONTO—The Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association and Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association are pushing the federal government to go further than it has said it is willing to go in compensating businesses, including restaurants, for losses caused by the gathering of world leaders in June in Toronto.

The G8 and G20 Summits in Huntsville and Toronto had their ups and downs for businesses, mostly up in the Muskoka area, and up for hotels in downtown Toronto but down for restaurants there.

After the meetings finished, the ORHMA and the CRFA received complaints from Toronto restaurant operators about financial losses due to tight security and violent demonstrations that kept tourists and local customers away from the city’s core during the G20 event at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

There were no complaints from the Huntsville area, which is in the riding of federal  Minister of Industry Tony Clement and received millions of dollars from Ottawa for local improvements. Huntsville also received attention on the world stage, and not for demonstrations and rioters as did Toronto.

The federal government has said it is willing to compensate businesses for losses suffered because of security measures taken during the meetings of state heads and their top economic and financial officers. However, it has said it would only do this for businesses that stayed open during the summits.

That’s not right ORHMA president Tony Elenis told ORN. He said many downtown Toronto businesses closed because even the police were advising them to do so.

Ottawa has also said businesses must make their claims within 90 days after the summits. It could be difficult for small operators to get this done within that time period, pointed out Elenis, especially since they are now occupied with running their restaurants during their busiest time of the year.
He said the ORHMA is pressing the government for three things:

• Allow businesses that closed because of the G20 Summit to receive compensation for lost revenues.
• Extend the application period beyond 90 days.
• Compensate employees for lost wages.

The ORHMA is offering to its members the services of a Toronto individual who is knowledgeable in the field and can help them fill out the application forms for compensation.

Elenis said his organization had called and written to government officials, but as of late July had not heard back from them yet.

Perhaps this was a good thing, commented Justin Taylor, vice-president for labour and taxation at the CRFA, which also had not heard back from Ottawa at that time. It could mean the government was giving serious consideration to the restaurant owners’ demands.

The CRFA was in regular contact with the Summit Management Office of the Department of Foreign Affairs, pushing for an extension of the time limit and a broader area of the city than just the downtown core to include restaurants eligible for compensation.

At press time, Ottawa had not indicated what areas of the city would be eligible for compensation.

A CRFA survey found that 93 per cent of downtown respondents and 73 per cent in the rest of the city reported a significant decrease in sales from June 21 to June 30, compared with the same period last year.

“The impact of the G20 Summit on Toronto restaurants was far deeper and more widespread than many people expected,” said CRFA president and CEO Garth Whyte, in a release.

“Our focus now is on ensuring that our members are fairly compensated for their business losses.”

Elenis said it was not just the downtown core in the security area around the convention centre that lost business. Restaurants were affected in an area from Queen’s Park to Front Street.

Toronto Mayor David Miller was also pushing the federal government to cover businesses’ losses from vandalism or being forced to shut down because of the summit, and also to pay compensation to employees for lost income.

Elenis also pointed out that not all the effects of the G20 summit were negative.
Downtown hotels needed the occupancy. “Hoteliers were very happy with the business they received.”

And one big operator that came out a winner in Huntsville was Aramark. Its remote feeding division was given the job of housing and feeding 4,500 people, accommodating RCMP, Ontario Provincial Police and Canadian Forces personnel.

That’s almost enough people to fill three times over, with single occupancy, the Delta Chelsea Hotel in Toronto, Canada’s largest lodging property.