• The Ontario government is introducing new legislation aimed at reducing delivery fees for restaurants. The Supporting Local Restaurants Act, 2020, would cap fees charged by food delivery companies in areas where indoor dining is prohibited. Currently, fees placed on restaurants by food delivery companies can reach as high as 30% in Ontario. Minister Sarkaria said restaurants should expect a cap of 15% for delivery fees, similar to what has been put in place in New York City, with an overall cap of 20% inclusive of all fees. Restaurants would be able to file complaints online if a food delivery service has overcharged fees in excess of the cap, and food delivery company employees or contractors who perform delivery services would be able to file complaints if their compensation or payments were reduced once the act comes into effect.
• The Ontario government is providing $13.6 million to enable school boards to hire more teachers and staff in regions recently moved to the Red-Control level and providing stabilization funding for school boards, if needed. The province is also expanding testing in school communities and launching new online learning portals. Ontario is launching targeted voluntary testing of asymptomatic students and staff in Ottawa, Toronto, Peel and York regions, which currently have a high number of active COVID-19 cases. This new effort will be complemented by funding for school safety in high priority regions, with Ontario allocating $13.6 million for school boards in Durham, Halton, Hamilton and Waterloo Region in response to the increase in COVID-19 cases in these communities.
• The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada have introduced a bill that proposes to decriminalize single event sport betting. Single event sport betting is placing a bet on the outcome of one single sporting game. The proposed changes will give provinces and territories the ability to offer single event sport betting products and the discretion to manage single event sport betting in their respective jurisdictions. In provinces and territories that choose to offer single event sport betting, Canadians would have an opportunity to engage in this activity in a regulated environment, either online or in physical facilities. The GNCC has been a proponent of legalized single sport event betting for several years, and is pleased to see this bill come forward after earlier attempts met with failure.

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• Provinces pressure Ottawa to pause plan to hike CPP premiums next year, Canadian Press

Provincial finance ministers have quietly prodded Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to put a pause on planned increases in premiums workers and businesses pay into the Canada Pension Plan. The planned increase on Jan. 1 is part of a multi-year plan approved by provinces and the federal government four years ago to boost retirement benefits through the public plan by increasing contributions over time.