The owner of a popular Ontario restaurant that had its liquor licence suspended for not checking vaccination status said she doesn’t want to come across as rebellious but believes she has no business asking about her customers’ medical information.
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) said in a statement Friday they suspended, and are moving to revoke, the liquor licence of Wild Wing in Belleville, Ont.
The AGCO said that on Sept. 29, compliance officers spoke to the liquor licence holder at the Wild Wing location, who allegedly told them she does not check vaccine status or require face masks while inside.
Compliance officers followed up two times in October and continued to observe non-compliance, the AGCO said.
The AGCO returned on Nov. 9 and said they “observed that multiple unmasked patrons were entering and exiting the establishment and that vaccine confirmation and identification were not checked.”
“The manager advised that his staff does not request vaccination confirmation or identification from patrons,” the AGCO said
Speaking to CTV News Toronto on Friday, the owner of the Wing Wild franchise, Jackie Banas, said this is not about being “anti-COVID or rebellious,” but about respecting people’s private medical information.
Banas said she believes asking for proof of vaccination for COVID-19 is a “slippery slope” that violates her customer’s rights.
“We aren’t asking for vaccine passports and so if you aren’t comfortable, don’t come in,” she said.
Banas said there is a sign posted outside the restaurant, which notifies customers that vaccine status will not be checked. She also said customers or staff who don’t wear masks will not be questioned.
She said she’s “doing the best she can” to make everyone feel like they are welcome at the restaurant.
“It’s really up to each individual to know the right thing for them,” she said.
Banas said losing her liquor licence doesn’t concern her because the majority of her sales do not come from alcohol.
“People can buy alcohol anywhere but they can’t get our wings anywhere else, so I don’t see it causing too much of a challenge,” she said. “People will still come and eat.”
Under the Ontario government’s reopening plan, proof of vaccination will be required until at least January in many non-essential settings.
The AGCO said it is in the “public interest to immediately suspend the liquor licence of Wild Wing Belleville.”
CTV News Toronto attempted to contact Wild Wing’s head office but no one was available for comment.
Under the Ontario government’s reopening plan, proof of vaccination will be required until at least January in many non-essential settings.
CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.
It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.
The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.
TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.
The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.
“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”
Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.
BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.
The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.
BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.
It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.
The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”
Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. trimmed its financial guidance as it reported its second-quarter revenue fell compared with a year ago.
The luxury clothing company says revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 29 totalled $267.8 million, down from $281.1 million in the same quarter last year.
Net income attributable to shareholders amounted to $5.4 million or six cents per diluted share, up from $3.9 million or four cents per diluted share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, Canada Goose says it earned five cents per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 16 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
In its outlook, Canada Goose says it now expects total revenue for its full financial year to show a low-single-digit percentage decrease to low-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a low-single-digit increase.
It also says it now expects its adjusted net income per diluted share to show a mid-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a percentage increase in the mid-teens.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
