There is a business licensing bylaw in Amherstburg, but town council has turned back the clock for the time-being.
After roughly two hours of debate on the matter during Monday night’s meeting, town council reinstated the 2009 business licensing bylaw that was originally repealed in 2023, and want a further look at updating it all the while bringing in a business registry so it is known by the town exactly who is operating in Amherstburg.
Those who had a license under the 2009 bylaw will not have to pay a fee while businesses that have opened in town since that bylaw was repealed in 2023 will be subject to paying one. The new bylaw that town council passed in 2023 was suspended in 2024 and remains as such.
The 2023 bylaw that remains suspended angered those in the business community, many of whom questioned why they had to pay annual fees for inspections they said they were already getting from other agencies. While administration streamlined the process that originally saw businesses subject to licenses for various services, the number of categories were reduced and only one license would have been required.
Now, staff is tasked with taking another look at an updated bylaw.
“We need something in place,” said Councillor Linden Crain, of bringing back the 2009 bylaw for the time-being.
Crain’s motion also called for a business registry to be created, something others around the table had also been bandying about during the extensive debate.
“I can’t vote on the 2009 bylaw if it’s not before me,” said Councillor Diane Pouget. “That would be ridiculous. I have no idea what that bylaw actually says.”
Pouget rejected the original recommendation to go forward with a new business licensing bylaw with annual fees, calling it “too restrictive.” She questioned a motion to refer the matter back to administration for further consultation, a motion that would fail, by asking “how many more times are we going to put businesses through this?”
Councillor Peter Courtney believed a “hybrid approach” was necessary. He didn’t believe the town had the resources for the bylaw that called for yearly inspections, calling it “a make-work project.”
“We need a bylaw,” he said. “Every municipality has one.”
“I think we’re going to have to take another run at it to see if council can have something to coalesce around,” said Deputy Mayor Chris Gibb.
Councillor Molly Allaire put forth a motion, the first of two that failed, calling for the recommended bylaw to pass with a one-time fee, meaning no follow-up fees, with a registry to show the town the business is still operating.
“There is a reason for it,” said Allaire, of business licensing. She said it is not because of the businesses that play by the rules and get inspected, but it was because of the businesses that do not.
Pouget said she would vote against the originally proposed business licensing recommendation, believing it would put an extra burden and strain on local businesses. She believed it was a duplication of services and would create a hardship for business owners.
Councillor Don McArthur indicated the root problem was businesses who get a license in the beginning receive no follow-up inspections at all, giving customers a false sense of security when they see that hanging on the wall. He supported a registry but if inspections are carried out yearly, all residents should not have to pay for it.
Gibb said the original motion for annual licenses was “overreach” by the town, and that many of the inspections are done by the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU). One example was fire issues, which he believed could be solved through the fire code.
“This just seems like we’re trying to solve a problem with a sledge hammer instead of a scalpel,” he said.
Manager of licensing and enforcement Bill Tetler noted there has been some form of business licensing in Amherstburg since 1878 and Mayor Michael Prue said it was “very dangerous” to operate without one. He didn’t believe it was a major jump in price, stating it was $200 since 1965 to get a license with the proposed new fee having been $217. He said he is proud of the town as it is law-abiding, but rules and procedures need to be in place.
Tetler’s report stated that a business license would ensure businesses are properly zoned, follow the Ontario Building Code and Ontario Fire Code as well as the Health Protection and Promotion Act and bylaw regulations.
“Without having an annual business licensing regime, the Town has no way to determine if the businesses are keeping up with their annual requirements, and the need to renew the business licence ensures that these regulatory elements are kept up to date. Without that check and balance, the Town could incur liability by having a ‘licensed’ business which does not conform with the regulations,” said Tetler in his report. “The role of licensing is to confirm that inspections have taken place and that the entity is in compliance with and has met the regulatory standards. The specific agencies and/or departments responsible for completing the required inspections depend on the category of the licence.”
Two downtown business owners addressed council, both objecting to the original bylaw recommendation and calling for it to be rejected. Jen DeLuca from the Waterfront Ice Cream Parlour and Sarah Brush from Speck’s Restaurant say they are already inspected by organizations such as WECHU, the town, provincial agencies and more thus leading the administrative proposal to be “redundant.”
DeLuca said small businesses offer jobs, sponsor teams and contribute to the community with their reward being more fees and government overreach. With other agencies performing inspections, “it is not necessary for the Amherstburg bylaw department to police this.”
Focusing on making sure new businesses are licensed should be what the town is doing, DeLuca added, not “double policing” existing businesses. She added at least 17 businesses she was in contact with opposed the new businesses licensing bylaw that originally went before town council Monday night.
Brush outlined the inspections her restaurant undertakes and “all come with significant costs.”
“These inspections are required to obtain insurance for my business,” said Brush. “They already provide an important layer of protection.”
WECHU shows records of inspections on its website and shows if establishments pass or are non-compliant, she indicated.
Restaurants were hit hard during the COVID-19 pandemic and threatened tariffs could also have a negative impact, Brush told town council. She questioned what standards she would be accountable to and wondered why restaurants were among the most focused upon.
“It seems like businesses already inspected are being targeted,” she said.
Deputy fire chief Dan Monk told council that from a fire perspective, there are nine sections in the fire code with about 64 categories. Fire protection companies use about a dozen of them when inspecting, he said, but Pouget maintained that such inspections are redundant when businesses already go through them.
Monk added the Amherstburg Fire Department issued 170 orders in recent years to restaurants including three with illegally operating kitchens. Pouget countered by saying that was done without needing an extra business licensing fee.
When discussing the original recommendation, Courtney added “I can’t get behind this issue. How can we do this fairly without extra fees?”
When bringing forth the motion that would eventually pass to reestablish the 2009 bylaw and work on a more permanent updated solution, Crain said he did not hear complaints with that bylaw until a new one was drafted. Building a registry was something that had been mentioned by others on town council as well during the course of the debate.
By Ron Giofu
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