Restaurants and Caterers in Quebec: A Practical Checklist

According to Québec.ca, establishments that prepare or keep food hot or cold in order to sell or serve it must hold a MAPAQ permit (MAPAQ is Quebec's ministry of agriculture, fisheries and food), either restaurant or retail type. Control of hygiene and sanitation must be entrusted to a holder of the food establishment manager certificate.

• Note the permit renewal date and set a reminder before it.
• Check that your team's certificates are still valid.
• Do not sell an event if your permit does not cover the planned service.
• Kai can remind you of these dates; the verification and the decision stay with you.

Health Canada identifies priority allergens: peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, milk, eggs, fish, crustaceans and molluscs, soy, wheat or triticale and mustard, plus sulphites. Mandatory labelling targets prepackaged foods, and MAPAQ issues public notices about undeclared allergens in prepared dishes that were sold. For unpackaged food, as in restaurants, Québec.ca indicates that allergen information should be accessible to customers at all times or provided to them, for example by a staff member or a sign.

• Record allergies as declared by the customer, in the file and on the execution sheet.
• Add to every quote and confirmation that the kitchen cannot guarantee the absence of an allergen.
• Check the labelling of prepared takeout dishes yourself.
• Kai never says a dish is allergen-free: it passes the question to your team.

Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL, overseen by the CRTC) requires, for commercial electronic messages, express or implied consent, identification of the sender and a working unsubscribe mechanism. A reservation confirmation does not require prior consent (s. 6(6)(b)). A group offer sent to last year's holiday customers, however, is a promotion: it requires express consent, or implied consent if the customer bought something from you in the previous two years (s. 10(9)(a) and 10(10)(a)).

• Only send a follow-up if consent is recorded in the file, and keep the proof.
• Identify your restaurant in every commercial message.
• Add an unsubscribe link or a keyword such as STOP.

Law 25 protects personal information: name, contact details, declared allergies. You collect only what is necessary for the purposes determined before collection (s. 5) and you inform the person of the purposes and of their rights (s. 8). A declared allergy is medical information, therefore sensitive within the meaning of section 12: it is used to prepare the meal, not for promotions. Before personal information is communicated outside Quebec, a privacy impact assessment is required (s. 17).

• Ask only for what is needed for the booking or the event.
• Restrict access to the file and plan to delete or anonymize a customer on request.
• Ask every supplier in writing, Orvel included, where your data travels.

The Charter of the French Language provides that consumers of goods or services have the right to be informed and served in French (s. 5). Kai replies in French, English, Spanish and Arabic; your confirmation messages and promotions are written in French first.

Google's rules prohibit offering an incentive, such as a discount or a free product, in exchange for a review, and soliciting positive reviews selectively; reviews written by employees are not accepted either, and the Competition Bureau reminds businesses that an employee who posts a review about their own company must disclose that connection. A genuine review cannot be removed at the business's request: it is better to reply calmly. As for deposits, cancellation fees must be clearly announced and accepted before the booking to be defensible.

• Send the review request to everyone, after the event, with no gift or discount.
• Approve every reply to a review yourself.
• Insert the deposit and cancellation policy in the quote and keep a record of the customer's acceptance.

A good checklist is reread every season, and Kai can remind you of the dates and prepare compliant messages. The decision and the responsibility stay with your team.

General information, not legal advice. Check with your professional order or the official source.

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• https://www.quebec.ca/entreprises-et-travailleurs-autonomes/industrie-bioalimentaire/permis-alimentaires/permis-restauration-vente-detail
• https://www.quebec.ca/sante/alimentation/salubrite-aliments-prevention-risques/etablissements-alimentaires/hygiene-nettoyage/formation-obligatoire-hygiene-salubrite-alimentaires/gestionnaire-etablissement-alimentaire
• https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/food-labelling/allergen-labelling.html
• https://crtc.gc.ca/fra/internet/anti/reg.htm
• https://www.cai.gouv.qc.ca/
• https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114
• https://www.opc.gouv.qc.ca/

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