Permanent delivery fee cap planned for B.C. (Stock image ID 141806937 © Kantver | Dreamstime.com)

By Liam Verster

Food Delivery

Permanent delivery fee cap planned for B.C.

Oct 6, 2022 | 1:30 PM

The B.C. government is introducing a bill to put a permanent cap on fees charged by food-delivery companies.

The province announced the plan Thursday as a way to support restaurant and bar owners, many of whom are facing ongoing challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic and global inflation.

“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 Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation.

“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.”

The legislation sets the permanent fee cap at 20 per cent of the dollar value of an order for delivery firms like Skip the Dishes.

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“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.

“We want to thank government for listening to our concerns over these fees and continuing to take action to support our industry through these challenging times.”

Along with setting a cap, the permanent measure prohibits delivery companies from reducing driver compensation, ensuring employees and contractors are paid their wages and gratuities.

A temporary delivery fee cap of 15 per cent on food and five per cent on additional fees was introduced in December 2020 under the Emergency Program Act and transitioned to the COVID-19 Related Measures Act when the provincial state of emergency was lifted in June 2021. The temporary cap was introduced in response to fees being as high as 30 per cent being charged to restaurants.

The temporary cap, which was extended in September and December of 2021, is set to expire on December 31, 2022.

B.C.’s Parliamentary Secretary for the New Economy, Adam Walker, has also been tasked with developing a strategy to address the challenges B.C. gig workers, including food-delivery drivers, continue to face.