Restaurants Canada wants government to pickup part of the tab for diners

Restaurants Canada is pitching an idea, ahead of Wednesday's Throne Speech, it hopes will help eateries survive a possible second wave of coronavirus.

Mirroring a similar program launched in England, the group is asking Ottawa to consider subsidizing customers meals.

Last month the U.K. government offered a 50 percent discount on meals up to $17 per diner between Monday's and Wednesday's.

So in other words half of a customers dinner was on the government.

Brits loved it, ordering more than 100 million meals at nearly 85,000 restaurants.

While the cost is still being calculated , but it may end up costing taxpayers close to a billion dollars.

But the Boris Johnson government says it helped protect nearly two million jobs.