Honourable Greg Rickford
Minister of Energy, Northern Development & Mines 

Honourable Vic Fedeli
Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation & Trade 

—

Dear Minister Rickford & Minister Fedeli: 

RISING INSURANCE COSTS FOR RESTAURANTS 

Restaurants and bars are being hit hard by the pandemic and are now facing an additional burden that threatens the livelihood of thousands of individuals in our community.  Insurance premiums for licensed restaurants and bars are increasing significantly for many establishments in Thunder Bay.  Some of our Members have seen a jump of 30-40% in their annual premium costs this year, despite greatly reduced revenues as a result of being closed or reduced to take-out only for months due to Ontario’s COVID-19 restrictions for non-essential businesses. 

We greatly appreciate the actions of your government to support restaurants by committing to permanently allow licensed restaurants and bars to include alcohol with food as part of a takeout or delivery order and permanently allowing 24/7 deliveries to restaurants.   

 To further assist with the rising costs of restaurant & bar insurance, we encourage you to include increases in insurance premiums as an eligible expense for the recently announced Northern Ontario Recovery Program.  We firmly believe that these costs should be eligible under the criterion listed as “Other costs deemed necessary to complete the project.”  

Thank you for your consideration of this recommendation and for your ongoing support of the business community. 

Sincerely, 

Charla Robinson
President 

c.  Michael Gravelle, MPP, Thunder Bay-Superior North 
     Judith Monteith-Farrell, MPP, Thunder Bay-Atikokan