Toronto Restaurant Chain Charging 2 Percent ‘Carbon Fee’

File photo of pizza pies in a wood oven. Mazur Travel/Shutterstock

The Goodfellas Wood Oven Pizza chain is charging a two percent “carbon fee” on every order.

“And then as I was leaving the restaurant, I say, ‘Oh, hey, look at this. What is this fee?’” restaurant patron Joseph Christiano said in an interview with CTV News.

The Toronto restaurant chain’s carbon fee could be clearly seen on a receipt Mr. Christiano recently posted to X, formerly Twitter. Set at two percent, the fee amounted to $3.04 for that particular bill.

An explanation of the fee was written near the bottom of the receipt.

“What we eat fuels climate change,” it read.

“Adding two percent to every restaurant bill to invest in carbon capture will help offset our carbon footprint.”

The text goes on to urge the reader to find out more on the restaurant’s website, which states: “At Goodfellas, we believe that what we eat impacts the environment.”

The website says that the company imports products from Italy, and to “offset our carbon footprint,” it is supporting a tree planting program, and asks customers to “join us by choosing to donate.”

A Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) spokesperson told The Toronto Sun that charging such a fee is legal because it is explained on the website and appears on the bill.

The federation’s Ontario director Julie Kwiecinski said, “businesses can do this.” It’s like a “cleaning fee, eco fee, or fuel surcharge,” she added.

Pizza ovens and carbon emissions have been in the news recently, with the Montreal Gazette reporting in January that the federal environment ministry is investigating whether certain restaurants and bakeries using wood-fired ovens need to report their annual air pollution emissions to the National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI).

The NPRI can fine companies that meet reporting requirements but either fail to report, do not report on time, or submit false or misleading information, although it does not set emissions limits.

Canadians would seem to be more fond of wood-fired pizza than they are the coming carbon tax hike. A Leger survey reveals that 69 percent of respondents oppose the Liberals’ upcoming carbon pricing increase. Set for April 1, the hike will raise carbon taxes to 17 cents per litre for gasoline, 21 cents for diesel, and 15 cents per cubic metre for natural gas.

A main element of the Conservatives’ platform is to “axe the [carbon] tax” if elected. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently said that all it would take to get Canadians on board with the carbon tax would be a five-minute conversation with each one.