There is an urban legend circulating that restaurants in Toronto must serve free tap water (e.g. BoomerCKA who claims it's a Toronto Public Health Ordinance, and that it's an Ontario liquor licence stipulation).
I know that in New Zealand, places that serve alcohol must give out free tap water but I was unable to find any official sources about this being a requirement in Toronto / Ontario. Indeed, the fact that articles about free tap water in Canadian restaurants don't mention any such requirement is telling.
So I decided to get an official response. Here is what Toronto DineSafe (under Public Health) said:
Toronto Public Health enforces the Health Protection and Promotion act and the associated Food Premises Regulations. I am including a link to both:HPPA - https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90h07
Food Premises Regulations - https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/R17493There is no provision in either which requires them to provide water, and we are not aware of any municipal bylaw regarding this practice.
For good measure, I also asked York Region Public Health, who told me:
At this time, no such bylaw exists for York Region.
