Call it the cheesiest form of indulgence.Pizza lovers in Toronto are facing a sharp increase in the price of their prized pies after a local chain took it upon itself to start charging a 2% ‘carbon fee’ onto all orders.At the bottom of its receipts, Goodfellas Wood Oven Pizza justifies the stipend by saying in part: “What we eat fuels climate change. Adding 2% to every restaurant bill to invest in carbon capture will help offset our carbon footprint.”No other explanation was given for the charge and the restaurant chain has refused media requests for comment..“What we eat fuels climate change. Adding 2% to every restaurant bill to invest in carbon capture will help offset our carbon footprint.”Goodfellas Pizza bill.But on its web site it says because many of its products are authentic ‘Designation of Origin Products’ imported from Italy, it has voluntarily decided to offset its carbon footprint by “supporting Tree Canada’s National Greening program, which plants trees in areas that need reforestation.”According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses, it’s perfectly legal as long as the restaurant doesn’t call its carbon fee a full-blown tax.It comes after the Montreal Gazette reported in January that the federal government was considering whether restaurants such as pizzerias and bagel shops that use wood fired ovens ought to be included in the National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI).The database tracks pollutants released into the air, water and land by industrial, commercial and institutional facilities. Those meeting specific criteria are required to submit annual reports by law. Although it doesn’t impose preset emissions limits, it can impose fines on those companies that do not report data or provide false or misleading information.No surprise, it’s under the auspices of Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), headed by none other than Steven Guilbeault..Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre responded to the smouldering crisis on Twitter (“X”): “I want to talk about the terrible existential crisis to the entire universe, which, of course, is pizza ovens,” he said.“I know that Prime Minister Trudeau and his federal agency have launched an outright crusade against pizza ovens. They started in Montreal but we know that they will get out here to Vancouver.”Nonetheless, Guilbeault’s department was quick to distance itself from the crusty controversy.“There have been no ECCC in-person inspections of wood-fired pizza and bagel shops. ECCC also does not regulate wood smoke from these small businesses. Based on data shared with ECCC so far, they do not meet the threshold for annual reporting to ECCC’s National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI),” the agency said on its website.
Call it the cheesiest form of indulgence.Pizza lovers in Toronto are facing a sharp increase in the price of their prized pies after a local chain took it upon itself to start charging a 2% ‘carbon fee’ onto all orders.At the bottom of its receipts, Goodfellas Wood Oven Pizza justifies the stipend by saying in part: “What we eat fuels climate change. Adding 2% to every restaurant bill to invest in carbon capture will help offset our carbon footprint.”No other explanation was given for the charge and the restaurant chain has refused media requests for comment..“What we eat fuels climate change. Adding 2% to every restaurant bill to invest in carbon capture will help offset our carbon footprint.”Goodfellas Pizza bill.But on its web site it says because many of its products are authentic ‘Designation of Origin Products’ imported from Italy, it has voluntarily decided to offset its carbon footprint by “supporting Tree Canada’s National Greening program, which plants trees in areas that need reforestation.”According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses, it’s perfectly legal as long as the restaurant doesn’t call its carbon fee a full-blown tax.It comes after the Montreal Gazette reported in January that the federal government was considering whether restaurants such as pizzerias and bagel shops that use wood fired ovens ought to be included in the National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI).The database tracks pollutants released into the air, water and land by industrial, commercial and institutional facilities. Those meeting specific criteria are required to submit annual reports by law. Although it doesn’t impose preset emissions limits, it can impose fines on those companies that do not report data or provide false or misleading information.No surprise, it’s under the auspices of Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), headed by none other than Steven Guilbeault..Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre responded to the smouldering crisis on Twitter (“X”): “I want to talk about the terrible existential crisis to the entire universe, which, of course, is pizza ovens,” he said.“I know that Prime Minister Trudeau and his federal agency have launched an outright crusade against pizza ovens. They started in Montreal but we know that they will get out here to Vancouver.”Nonetheless, Guilbeault’s department was quick to distance itself from the crusty controversy.“There have been no ECCC in-person inspections of wood-fired pizza and bagel shops. ECCC also does not regulate wood smoke from these small businesses. Based on data shared with ECCC so far, they do not meet the threshold for annual reporting to ECCC’s National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI),” the agency said on its website.
