Item - 2019.GL8.19

The General Government and Licensing Committee recommends that:

1.  City Council amend the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 545, Licensing, as follows:

Update of Food-Related Provisions

a.  Adopt a new definition for food, subject to such technical and stylistic amendments as required by the City Solicitor and the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, as follows:

Food - Food or drink for human consumption and includes an ingredient of food or drink for human consumption.

b.  Delete all references to the phrase "food or drink" and replace them with the word "food".

c.  Move the definitions of Food Safety Inspection Notice and Food Safety Inspection Report found in Article X, Food Establishments (Other Than in Hotels), and the definition of Eating or Drinking Establishment found in 545-157D to 545-1, Definitions, to improve the readability of Chapter 545, Licensing.  

d.  Delete requirements of food establishments that are now regulated by the province or which no longer have a municipal purpose, including those relating to the supervision of dining rooms, the number of attendants, waste containers, server clothing restrictions, the posting of food safety inspection notices, the posting of business licences next to food safety inspection notices, notifying Municipal Licensing and Standards of changes to the food safety risk level of the business, food handler certification, the accreditation of food handler training programs, and the posting of procedures to assist choking victims.

e.  Delete definitions that relate to requirements of food establishments that are now regulated by the province, replaced, or which no longer have a municipal purpose, including accredited programs, certified food handlers, eating or drinking establishment (in 545-157E), food handlers, food handler certificates, food or drink, hazardous food, high-risk premises, low-risk premises, medium-risk premises, photo identification card, serving persons, and specified body areas.

f.  Delete requirements of food establishments and other provisions found in Article X, Food Establishments (Other Than in Hotels), that relate specifically to licences held by corporations or partnerships.

g.  Require that the remaining provisions of Article X, Food Establishments (Other Than in Hotels), apply to the owners or operators of businesses captured under that article.

By-law Clean-Up

h.  Adopt the following general definitions, subject to such technical and stylistic amendments as required by the City Solicitor and the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, as follows:

1.  Owner - Any person who owns a business premises or vehicle, as the context requires, except as the term is otherwise defined within this chapter, in which case that definition shall prevail.

2.  Operator - Any person who alone or with others operates, manages, supervises, runs, or controls a business, premises, or vehicle, as the context requires, and "operate", "operation", and other like words shall be given a corresponding meaning.

3.  Driver - The driver of a vehicle, including an owner who drives his or her own vehicle.

i.  Delete the specific definitions of Owner, Operator, Driver, and Keeper in Articles II, III, V, XX, XXII, XLII, XLIV, XLV, and XLVI.

j.  Delete all references to the word "keeper" in Chapter 545, Licensing, and replace them with the word "operator" and deem the existing holders of a "keeper" licence, for their remaining term, to hold an "operator" licence of the same class.

k.  Delete the definitions of Instructor, To Solicit, and Passenger.

l.  Delete all references to "wagon" in 545-229 and 231 in Article XVIII, Owners and Operators of Laundries, and 545-224, 226, 227, 229, 231, and 277 in Article XVII, Hawkers and Pedlars, and delete 545-224A in Article XVII, Hawkers and Pedlars.

m.  Delete 545-199, 200, and 201 in Article XIII, Sale of Tobacco Products.

n.  Add "e-cigarette" to 545-208(G) to prohibit a school bus driver from using e-cigarettes while driving a school bus.

o.  Delete Part C of the definition of Holistic Services and delete the definitions of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine as well as all references to these terms in Chapter 545, Licensing.

p.  Include the same provisions found in Article I, General Provisions, of the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 546, Licensing of Vehicles-For-Hire, subject to such technical and stylistic amendments as required by the City Solicitor and the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, except for:

1.  546-1 (Definitions);

2.  546-2 (Licence requirement); and

3.  546-13 (General provisions applicable to vehicle-for-hire and Private Transportation Company drivers).
 

q.  Delete 545-5, General Provisions, except for:

1.  545-3 (Toronto Licensing Tribunal);

2.  545-4A(2)(3)(4) (Pre-payment of Body-Rub Parlour fees);

3.  545-4B(5) (Multi-year licence renewals);

4.  545-4P (Endorsement provisions);

5.  545-5D (Guide dog or service animal provisions);

6.  545-5G and 545-5H (Cigarette clean-up and disposal provisions);

7.  545-5J (Provisions related to selling near the Canadian National Exhibition); and

8.  545-7D (Provisions allowing for imprisonment for violating licence requirement for Body-Rub Parlour/Adult Entertainment Club owners).
 

r.  Adopt a new provision to require all licensees under Chapter 545, Licensing, to notify Municipal Licensing and Standards within 48 hours of any change to their address on record with Municipal Licensing and Standards and delete the following specific requirements that will then be redundant: 545-12A(5), 545-172, 545-208J, 545-339, 545-372, 545-436, and 545-509.

s.  Delete Appendix J, Notice, Ontario Consumer Protection Act.

t.   Delete 545-8, Transitional provisions.

u.  Delete the definition of Drive-Self Cartage Vehicle.

v.  Delete 545-2A(39) pertaining to second-hand goods.

Screening Criteria

2.  City Council delegate to the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, the authority to establish policies and guidelines with respect to the business licensing requirements in the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 545, Licensing, and to establish thresholds for criminal and background screening and other standards applicable to the issuance and renewal of all business licences under Chapter 545, Licensing, and City Council delete Appendix K, Business Licensing Thresholds, in Chapter 545, Licensing.

Implementation

3.  City Council authorize the City Solicitor to make such stylistic and technical changes to the Bill to amend the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 545, Licensing, as may be required for the recommendations to take effect, including reorganizing provisions and amending section headings, as appropriate.

4.  City Council direct that the proposed changes to the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 545, Licensing, come into force on the day they are enacted.

This report is part of a larger, multi-phase initiative involving a review of the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 545, Licensing.

This report proposes further amendments aimed at improving Chapter 545, Licensing, by streamlining and simplifying the By-law and reducing regulatory burden for businesses, updating and modernizing the By-law to ensure alignment with other legislation and regulation, and enhancing the readability and consistency of the By-law.

The current phase of review includes a number of proposed amendments including:

1.  Updating the By-law to reflect changes to Ontario's Health Protection and Promotion Act (HPPA). The HPPA and, in particular the new regulation for Food Premises (Ontario Regulation 493/17), now provide the necessary legislative authority for Toronto Public Health (TPH) and the Medical Officer of Health to undertake activities to maintain food safety in establishments serving and preparing food. This report recommends updates that would remove regulatory duplication.

2.  Seeking delegated authority to set screening criteria for licence applicants and to amend them, as necessary, as well as to issue interpretation bulletins. This would allow staff to streamline the current thresholds, simplifying the criteria and making them more adaptable and responsive to changing business and legislative environments.

3.  Various technical amendments to clean up the By-law and reduce duplication and unnecessary regulatory burden.

TPH and Legal Services were consulted in the preparation of this report.