B.C. wants to permanently cap food-delivery fees

The B.C. government wants to address ongoing inflation and pandemic challenges faced by local restaurant and bar owners by permanently capping fees charged by food delivery companies like Uber and Skip the Dishes.

The province has introduced legislation that, if passed, would cap delivery fees charged to restaurants and other businesses at no more than 20 per cent of the dollar value of an order.

“As the costs of food and labour rise worldwide, B.C. restaurants need to be supported to ensure prices are affordable and that delivery companies aren’t charging unfair fees,” said Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation Ravi Kahlon.

“By introducing legislation allowing us to convert the delivery fee cap from temporary to permanent, we are able to provide more certainty to the sector and to delivery drivers.”

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• Food delivery app fees for restaurants capped at 15 per cent in B.C.

This comes after a temporary cap was launched in December 2020. That temporary measure was extended and is set to expire this coming December.

Previously, the temporary cap was 15 per cent on food and five per cent on additional fees. The province says the measures were brought in after some fees on restaurants were reported to be as high as 30 per cent.

Measures brought in by the province also meant that delivery companies were prohibited from reducing driver compensation as a result of the caps.

“Transforming the temporary delivery fee cap into a permanent model is a game changer for the recovery of our industry and setting restaurants up to be able to thrive in the future,” said Ian Tostenson, president and CEO, BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association.