toronto patios

Toronto just inspected more than 1,000 patios and only gave one warning letter

City of Toronto staff inspected more than 1,100 patios across the city over the past three days, but only one was found guilty of an infraction.

Speaking at the city's press briefing Monday afternoon, Mayor John Tory gave a brief overview of the inspections, complaints and fines issued to businesses as well as some individuals throughout the weekend.

"Over the past three days, some 1,100 Toronto patios have been inspected for overall compliance, including with COVID-19 measures," Tory said. 

"I think this is something the people of Toronto want to hear about."

Of the more than 1,000 patios inspected this weekend, the city said only one infraction was found and that particular establishment was given a warning letter. The city did not, however, reveal the name of the restaurant that received the letter. 

Meanwhile, Tory also revealed that 22 tickets were given to businesses for issues relating to alcohol enforcement.

"I was told that much of what was done over the course of the weekend in terms of enforcement activities were related to alcohol," he said.

The mayor added that three complaints were made in relation to gatherings in parks, but no fines were issued in these instances.

 "In each case, the complaint is responded to and the people are educated with respect to what the requirements of the rules are," he said.

An additional 35 complaints were made in respective parks across the city, resulting in just one single ticket, and there were no reported complaints in relation to the city's CafeTO program

Overall, the city says they've seen very high compliance rates with their new patio program.

Lead photo by

Hector Vasquez


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