Québec solidaire (QS) urges the Legault government to limit the costs that delivery platforms charge restaurateurs to 20%. Such a measure had been adopted during the pandemic, but the party now wants a “permanent law”.
“While restaurateurs and customers pay outrageous fees, delivery people earn paltry wages. In the current model, the only winners are companies like DoorDash and Uber Eats, ”hammered solidarity critic for economics and finance, Haroun Bouazzi, on Sunday.
He maintains that restaurateurs today “need a breath of fresh air”, following a financially difficult health crisis. “Delivery companies drain the profits of our small restaurateurs who become prisoners of a model that forces them to pay excessive fees,” insists the MP.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Haroun Bouazzi, deputy for Maurice-Richard and economics and finance critic
Mr. Bouazzi made these remarks the day following an investigation by The Press published on saturday1, which revealed that many merchants present on delivery platforms ignore or defy laws governing the retail sale of food. For example, sales taxes are applied to basic products, and the price of “regular” milk is displayed above the maximum allowed. Result: customers pay the bill.
Law 87, aimed at limiting certain costs in the field of catering, was adopted in March 2021 by the Minister of Agriculture, André Lamontagne. Quebec then implemented a maximum of 20% for these costs, but this measure ended with the lifting of the health emergency, in the summer of 2022.
Moreover, the law only concerned restaurants “whose dining room is completely closed” or “whose dining room operating hours are limited” due to sanitary measures.
“We want a permanent framework for delivery costs. That’s why we tabled two bills, ”raised Sunday the press secretary of the parliamentary wing of QS, Camille Godbout.
During the last parliamentary session, two deputies in solidarity, Vincent Marissal and Ruba Ghazal, had tabled bills 795 and 798 to “permanently limit the delivery costs paid by restaurateurs”. However, the two legislative texts “have never been called by the government”, deplores QS.
Called to react, Minister Lamontagne’s office indicated on Sunday that it was having discussions with the Association Restauration Québec (ARQ) and the City of Montreal “on new delivery solutions”. “We invite Quebecers to continue to support restaurant owners in their neighborhood,” explained press officer Sophie Jacques-Barma.
“In the context of a pandemic, we have put in place exceptional measures to help restaurateurs get through the crisis. The objective of Law 87 was clear: to limit the amount of fees charged by digital delivery platforms to restaurateurs forced to close their dining rooms due to health restrictions,” continued Ms.me Jacques-Barma.