City to study pros and cons of extended last call hours at some Toronto bars
Posted November 28, 2016 6:59 am.
Last Updated November 28, 2016 5:49 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Could the days of a 2 a.m. last call soon disappear from some Toronto bars?
On Monday, the city’s economic development committee heard a request from the Toronto Music Industry Advisory Council to extend bar hours at certain venues. However, no specific times are given.
The current curfew has been in place for 20 years.
The economic development committee says it will study the value of later closing times for the night-time economy, but a decision isn’t expected anytime soon.
Committee chair Coun. Michael Thompson said he’ll wait to see the report before weighing in on the proposal.
“At this point I’m neither for nor against (extended last call) because I don’t have that evidence to help me understand,” he said Monday. “It’s a thoughtful process we have to go through to consider all the concerns…”
Spencer Sutherland, of the Toronto Music Industry Advisory Council, said the extended hours wouldn’t apply to all venues.
“We are not advocating that…the curtain suddenly gets lifted across the board and that everyone starts serving late,” he said. “In fact a lot of places wouldn’t want that. But the reality of the industry is there are different types of venues, we need to differentiate between them…”
Late-serving extensions have been granted during some special events including TIFF, Nuit Blanche and the Grey Cup.
