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First-time patio permit fees in Ottawa among highest in Canada, CFIB report finds

August 15, 2024

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With restaurants still recovering from the pandemic, many rely on the busy summer months and sunny days on the patio to bring them through the slower seasons. But according to a recent report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Ottawa has some of the highest fees in the country for first-time patio permits. The report, released Wednesday, found that small businesses in Ottawa pay an average of $1,424 for a first-time sidewalk patio permit and wait up to two weeks for processing, making Ottawa one of the most inconvenient cities in Canada for business owners to start up a patio. The most expensive cities are St. John’s, N.L., which costs $2,765, and Vancouver, which costs between $1,1012 and $1,451. Keyli Loeppky, director of interprovincial affairs at CFIB, said the high fees are “stalling” pandemic recovery and discouraging businesses from opening a patio. “Businesses are still coming out of COVID, whether we like it or not. The CEBA loan came to an end, but businesses are still paying that back in the background,” she told OBJ. “Small businesses across Ontario are also struggling with insufficient demand, so that's their biggest limitation. “So basically, this is just another cost added on top of all the other challenges that they're dealing with.” The report examined permit fees for business owners looking to open a temporary or seasonal sidewalk patio for the first time; businesses that are already zoned for a courtyard or backyard patio or that have operated patios in the past are not included.D ata was collected from relevant municipal and city government websites in June and July. CFIB reached out to municipalities to confirm the data, but did not receive confirmation from the City of Edmonton, a spokesperson told OBJ. Many small businesses rely on patio season for a much-needed boost in sales, Loeppky said, but “patio season is short.” “We know that in Canada, we don't get to operate these patios all year long,” she explained. “So for a costly and time-consuming permit, it just keeps business owners from putting time into their business, from being able to open and make these patios as nice as possible so that they can serve customers and make the streets vibrant.” At the height of social distancing and other restrictions related to the pandemic, many Canadian cities rolled out temporary patio policies that loosened rules and waived fees for bars and restaurants looking to seat customers outdoors. In Ottawa, the Patio Innovation Program was approved by the city in 2020, 2021 and 2022 and included a new retail vending program, streamlined permit applications and, most notably, the temporary waiving of monthly patio fees. Last summer, most of these amendments were rolled back and a fee structure was introduced to slowly move back to full patio fees. While many cities have done the same, some are sticking with it, CFIB noted. Winnipeg and Saskatoon have both simplified their permit application processes, the report found, requiring only one document and no fees. In Ottawa, which requires three documents (a low number, compared to Calgary’s eight), business owners face a two-week wait. “It makes us ask, ‘Why are these permits so necessary and why are they so costly?’ During the pandemic, we were able to do away with them completely,” said Loeppky. “It's been proven that we can do this without putting an additional cost on business. Winnipeg is turning these permits around in 24 hours. “But I think it's all about priorities. At a time when businesses have been through a lot over the last number of years and are still struggling to get out of that rut, it would be nice for city councils across the country to give small businesses a break,” she continued. “Especially for businesses that are just starting up or trying to expand, we can provide opportunities that are less costly and less burdensome in terms of red tape.” The other cities studied in the report showed a variety of costs, required documents and processing times. Edmonton requires five documents and costs $405, Moncton $350, and Halifax $970, whereas fees are higher in Quebec City (between $746 and $1,142) and Montreal ($1,065). Toronto has the longest estimated wait time for processing at up to eight weeks. When it comes to this “red tape,” Loeppky said businesses face “another barrier” to opening or expanding their business. “When you think about a new business and what they have to go through in order to start running a business, it's a lot to understand, whether you're looking at the labour rules in a province, or registering your employees, or making sure your standards are up to par,” she explained. “That's a lot to go through, and then, say you open right at the beginning of summer. “Well, now you have to wait two weeks in Ottawa and pay another $1,400 out of pocket just to get your patio going,” she continued. “There’s an opportunity for city halls to cut small businesses a bit of a break.”