Liquor Industry Update: February 23, 2023

Dear ABLE BC Members and Industry Colleagues,

Here’s what you’ll find in today’s update:

  • ABLE BC Email Issues

  • Government Relations Update from Executive Director, Jeff Guignard

  • Excise Tax Increasing on April 1, 2023

  • Single-Use Plastics Prohibition

  • Vancouver to Repeal Single-Use Cup Fee

  • BC Announces $30 Million in Support for Fairs, Festivals, and Events

  • BC Chamber of Commerce Launches Labour Market Study

  • National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Made a Stat Holiday

  • ABLE BC Member Portal Webinar Recording

  • The Spring Quarterly Pour Issue is Out Now!

  • 2023 Buyers' Guide is Out Now!

  • 2023 BC Tourism and Hospitality Conference Announces Full Program!

  • Save the Date: Upcoming Events and Webinars

  • Benefit Highlight: Global Payments

  • Celebrating our Industry

  • Out and About with ABLE BC!

  • Join ABLE BC Today!

Find all past updates here.

ABLE BC Email Issues 

We have been experiencing email issues for the past two weeks and have not been able to communicate over email with some members. If you have reached out to use recently but haven’t heard back, please call Ann Brydle, Manager of Membership and Communication, at 604-688-5560.  

If you haven’t seen the latest Industry Update Newsletter or other emails from us recently, please be sure to check your junk folder, save ann@ablebc.ca and jeff@ablebc.ca in your contacts, and reach out to us if you have any questions.  

Government Relations Update from Executive Director, Jeff Guignard

One of the core functions of ABLE BC is to advocate for your interests with government decisions-makers. To that end, last week I travelled to both Ottawa and Victoria for several meetings with elected officials, political aides, and senior bureaucrats to discuss several of our industry’s ongoing concerns.


In Ottawa, I joined a broad coalition of national industry associations, including Beer Canada and Restaurants Canada, to express our serious concerns about a 6.3 per cent increase in federal excise tax duties on alcohol—the largest increase in four decades. While excise duties are a normal part of the taxation system, the size of this increase is not. When the Government of Canada linked excise duties to inflation in 2017, no one—including parliamentarians and policy-makers—anticipated an increase of this magnitude. Over two days of meetings, we explained how this increase will hurt your businesses and asked our federal government partners to cap the current increase at no more than two per cent per year. Given that industry is still recovery from the financial damage of the pandemic, this is absolutely the wrong time to increase taxes on Canada’s struggling liquor and hospitality businesses.


I was also in Victoria last week for several meetings, including to discuss priorities identified by the government-appointed Business Technical Advisory Committee (BTAP), which I chair. As you may recall, BTAP is comprised of senior leaders from BC’s leading liquor and hospitality industry associations. Together, we aim to provide advice and recommendations to government with a shared goal of improving BC’s liquor industry.
 
While the panel has raised a number of issues resulting from our 2018 report authored by then-Chair Mark Hicken, we are also discussing ongoing liquor distribution issues and policy issues related to TESAs, minimum pricing, tied houses, LRS relocations, and other issues aimed at improving your businesses.
 
Premier David Eby has been clear about his priorities: fixing the housing crisis, making communities safer, strengthening health care, and acting on climate change. While our provincial government partners work to make progress on these important issues, it is our job to keep liquor and hospitality issues on government’s agenda.
 
In the coming weeks, we will be seeking your feedback directly on a range of policy issues to amplify our advocacy efforts. We will also be seeking your assistance to connect with local MLAs to better inform them of our industry’s ongoing challenges and opportunities.
 
In the meantime, if you have any specific liquor policy concerns or questions, please contact me directly at jeff@ablebc.ca.

Excise Tax Increasing on April 1, 2023 

Excise duties are a federal tax applied to several products, including alcohol (wine, beer, cider, and spirits), manufactured in Canada.

In 2017, the Government of Canada amended the Excise Act to tie excise duties on alcohol to inflation. On April 1, 2023, the tax will increase by 6.3%--the largest federal tax increase on alcohol in 40 years.

As the tax is paid by liquor manufacturers, it means you can expect wholesale liquor prices to increase as of April 1. While the increases won’t be significant on any individual SKU, in total the new tax increase will net $45 million of additional revenue for the federal government off the backs of our industry and our customers.

“It is a hidden tax. Most consumers would have no idea there’s such a thing,” CJ Helie, the President of Beer Canada says. “It is imposed at the manufacturer’s level as soon as they make the product. So what that means is that it’s embedded into the price initially as the supplier sells to the distributor, from the distributor to the retailer, or the bar, and so it gets marked up all along the way.”

The increase to the retail shelf price of alcohol products may be small, for example, 1.7 cents per can of beer, but any additional cost right now is adding undue pressure to both businesses and consumers. 

ABLE BC's Executive Director Jeff Guignard calls the automatic increase " fundamentally stupid" at a time when industry is still recovering. ABLE and our industry partners are fighting against the increase to excise tax and have recently been in Ottawa press for "logical, sensible reform" from the federal government.

Click here to see Jeff’s recent comments in the media on this issue.

Click here for more information and actions you can take from Beer Canada.

Single-Use Plastics Prohibition 

The Government of Canada is introducing a prohibition on single-use plastics to help prevent plastic pollution. On June 22, 2022, the Federal Government published these regulations. 

What you need to know now:

  • Checkout bags, cutlery, foodservice ware, stir sticks, straws: prohibited from sale on December 20, 2023 

  • Plastic beer ring carriers: prohibited from sale on June 20, 2024 

  • Flexible straws packaged with beverage containers: prohibited from sale on June 20, 2024 

To help you plan for this change, ABLE BC is working with industry partners to create a list of suppliers and best practices for your business. If you have questions about the prohibition, please reach out to us at ann@ablebc.ca.

For more information, you can watch the Restaurants Canada webinar An Overview of the Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations with Environment and Climate Change Canada and check out this Sustainability Best Practices Guide.

Vancouver to Repeal Single-Use Cup Fee 

Last week, Vancouver City Council voted to end the city’s 25-cent single-use cup fee. The repeal will take effect on June 1, 2023.  

The decision comes after receiving feedback from local businesses, consumers, and business associations that the fee is ineffective in its initial goal of reducing the number of single-use cups used. The City will draft a bylaw amendment by June 1st to formally repeal the fee.  

ABLE BC joined industry partners such as the BC Restaurants and Foodservices Association (BCRFA) and Restaurants Canada to advocate for this change and we congratulate City Council for acting on the concerns of Vancouver's hospitality businesses.

Click here to learn more.  

BC Announces $30 Million in Support for Fairs, Festivals, and Events 

“The past three years have been incredibly difficult for people in the tourism industry, including live events, and we know not every business has fully recovered,” said Lana Popham, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport. 

Through the BC Fairs, Festivals, and Events (BCFFE) fund, the provincial government is providing $30 million in one-time grants to eligible events.  

Applications are accepted until March 3, 2023 for events happening between April 1, 2023-December 31, 2024. Grant amounts will be as much as 20% of the total event budget, to a maximum of $250,000.  

Click here for more information. 

Are you an LRS business looking to work with fairs, festivals, and events? Check out ABLE BC’s Best Practices for Selling to SEP Holders 

BC Chamber of Commerce Launches Labour Market Study 

We all know that British Columbia’s workforce challenges are top of mind for most employers and a roadblock to growth, investment and success. We need solutions … urgently! 

With that in mind, the BC Chamber of Commerce has launched a new two-phase study – Addressing the Labour Market Gap– that will seek to understand the disconnect between employers and job seekers and identify appropriate solutions.

Funded by the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, the work will be undertaken in two phases through to January 2024:

  1. Phase 1 kicks off with the launch of the unique “Addressing the Labour Market Gap” survey that will seek to understand the needs of both employers and job seekers.

  2. Phase 2 will comprise community engagement activities in each of the seven economic regions of the province to identify appropriate solutions to the data findings.

The survey will run until February 24, 2023. 

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Made a Stat Holiday 

On February 7, 2023, the BC Government introduced a new Bill, which when passed into law will establish the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a statutory holiday under the British Columbia Employment Standards Act (ESA). 

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is observed on September 30. 

The holiday is intended to provide an opportunity to commemorate the history and legacy of the residential school system and honour survivors, their families, and communities that have been impacted. 

All provincially regulated employers in BC will be required to recognize the new statutory holiday in the same manner as other statutory holidays. 

go2HR offers these reminders about statutory holidays and statutory holiday pay:

  • With the addition of The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, there will now be a total of 11 Statutory Holidays in BC. 

    • HR Best Practice: Though Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, Boxing Day are not statutory holidays in BC, some employers choose to observe them as paid days in order to enhance their overall compensation packages.

  • Statutory holiday pay is payable to eligible employees regardless of whether the statutory holiday falls on the employee’s regularly scheduled day off. 

  • In order to qualify to receive statutory holiday pay, employees must: 

    • Have been employed for 30 calendar days, AND 

    • Have worked or earned wages (like paid vacation days or another statutory holiday) on 15 of the 30 days before a statutory holiday OR 

    • Worked under an averaging agreement at any time within the 30 calendar days preceding the holiday. 

  • Eligible employees who work on a statutory holiday are to be paid time-and-a-half (1.5x) for hours worked and double-time (2x) for hours worked over 12 hours 

  • Eligible employees who are off on a statutory holiday (regular or scheduled day off) are to be paid an average day's pay. Employers are not required to give another day off. 

  • Ineligible employees who work on a statutory holiday are to be paid regular pay (e.g. a new employee that has not been employed for 30 days or a part time employee who only works 1-2 days per week) 

  • Ineligible employees who are off on a statutory do not get paid for that day 

Exemptions for Statutory Holiday Provisions: 

  • Employees covered by a collective agreement that contains any provisions respecting statutory holidays and Managers as defined by the ESA regulation, are exempted from the statutory holiday provisions of the Act. 

  • If a collective agreement does not contain any provisions respecting statutory holidays, the provisions of the Act are deemed to be incorporated into the collective agreement. 

  • If a Manager’s role does not meet the definition, as defined by the ESA regulation, they are entitled to the Statutory Holiday provisions of the Act. 

Additional Resources: 

Statutory holidays - (gov.bc.ca) 

Qualify for statutory holiday pay - (gov.bc.ca) 

Find out how to calculate statutory holiday pay 

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation 

 ABLE BC Member Portal Webinar Recording 

Thank you to everyone who attended our webinar earlier today! Our new member portal is a great addition to your ABLE membership and the best way to stay connected to our resources and benefits.  

The recording will be available in the video library shortly, so check back tomorrow if you weren’t able to attend live today. 

Questions about the member portal? Get in touch with us at ann@ablebc.ca. 

The Spring Quarterly Pour Issue is Out Now! 

Download your copy of The Quarterly Pour spring issue now!

Feature articles in this issue: 

2023 Buyers’ Guide is Out Now! 

 We are pleased to introduce ABLE BC's 2023 Buyers' Guide, featuring our list of preferred industry suppliers.

We encourage you to support the small businesses in your community. The companies listed in our annual Buyers' Guide are trusted leaders in our industry. 

They know exactly how to cater to your specific business needs. Whether you are looking for shelving, PPE and Plexiglass, POS systems, employee benefits, or more, we strongly encourage you to consider using their products and services. 

Our preferred suppliers are also Associate Members of the Alliance. Associate Members support the advocacy work we do and are clearly invested in our industry's long-term success. 

Download the 2023 Buyers’ Guide here.

2023 BC Tourism and Hospitality Conference Announces Full Program! 

All systems go! British Columbia's largest tourism and hospitality conference is less than THREE WEEKS away. The conference will take in Prince George on March 1-3, 2023.

The complete conference program is available HERE.

Questions about the conference?

Please contact registration@bctourismandhospitalityconference.com or info@bctourismandhospitalityconference.com  

Save the Date: Upcoming Events and Webinars? 

BC Tourism & Hospitality Conference March 1-3

The  BC Hotel Association (BCHA) and the  Tourism Industry Association of British Columbia (TIABC) are excited to announce the 2023 BC Tourism & Hospitality Conference will return March 1-3, 2023.

The 2023 conference will take place in Prince George and will bring an array of unique industry speakers and topics relating to the next chapter of tourism and hospitality within our province.

Click here to learn more.

Empower Her, March 6 & May 4

WORTH Association and women of recreation, tourism, and hospitality in Vancouver will join for an evening of networking with an inspiring panel discussion. WORTH's Empower Her event aims to connect a community of leaders to expand their network and create meaningful relationships.

Vancouver’s top female tourism and hospitality leaders will share inspiring ideas with the intention of sparking dialogue about issues that impact women in the workplace. Their perspectives will inform, inspire, and empower women to collectively identify ways to accelerate women to senior roles in the industry.

For more information on the March 6th Vancouver event, click  here

For more information on the May 4th Whistler event, click  here

Vancouver Cocktail Week March 5-11

Get your glamour on for the  Golden Era Cocktail Revival Gala! The signature event of Vancouver cocktail week will dazzle on March 11 at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. Tickets are now on sale for the gala as well as the dozens of other events to be held during the second annual Vancouver Cocktail Week presented by The Alchemist, March 5 to 11, 2023.

 VCW 2023 itself kicks off with an elevated cocktail-paired brunch at Botanist at the Fairmont Pacific Rim on March 5, then follows with dozens of ticketed events held in Vancouver’s top bars and restaurants.

They range from afternoon seminars to evening tastings, master classes, walking tours and more cocktail- and spirit-paired dinners than you can shake a cobbler at. And everyone should take part in the (unticketed) Cinq à Sept series of elevated happy hours that celebrate food, drink, art and community, many of them featuring guest shifts by out-of-town bartenders.

The Golden Era Gala promises to be a glamorous Prohibition-themed celebration of the city’s cocktail culture. It will be held at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver’s gorgeous Pacific Ballroom and serves up live music, a DJ, fine food, more than 40 premium spirits brands and, of course, cocktails specially crafted for the event by top bartenders from Vancouver and beyond.

Tickets for  Vancouver Cocktail Week presented by  The Alchemist, March 5 to 11, 2023, are now on sale.

Victoria IVSA Buyers’ Tasting Salon, NEW DATE & LOCATION

The Victoria IVSA Buyers’ Tasting Salon is coming up soon! RSVP to  admin@ivsa.ca now to sample products from several liquor agents.

When: Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Time: 12:30 pm- 3:30 pm

Location: Marriott Inner Harbour, 728 Humbolt Street

RSVP to  admin@ivsa.ca with your name, job title, and company

Western Community College’s 2023 Job Fair, March 23

Bringing BC's top talent to Surrey, BC! Expecting foot traffic of over 200 candidates, WCC's Job Fair for 2023 would help you find top graduates from WCC's best programs and potential walk-ins.

What do you get with your FREE ticket?

Expo booth + Entry For 2 People (We have chairs and tables covered for you!)

What should you bring?

Your hiring team ready to do on-the-spot interviews

Your company banners/logos/standees

When: Thursday, March 23rd, 2023, 11:00 am-4:00 pm

Where: Newton Recreation Centre,

Tickets: Free!

Register here.

Benefit Highlight: Global Payments

We are pleased to partner with  Global Payments to bring you access to the broadest selection of payment technology and software solutions in Canada. Make use of this  limited-time offer and start accepting payments anywhere—online, through mobile, in-store, and more, for less!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Benefits for ABLE BC Members:

  • Streamlined payments: Acceptance for all major debit and credit payment types, including digital wallets

  • Robust suite of payment products: Includes the latest smart terminals and virtual terminals to offer you a choice of next-generation countertop, wireless, and online payment acceptance.

  • Online Ordering: Take your restaurant business wherever your customers are, in just a few clicks. Give your customers the ability to view your menu and place orders from any location through the web or smartphone.

  • Home Currency Pay at no cost: This dynamic currency conversion service is a must for hosting international travellers. Boost profits and customer satisfaction.

  • Fast access to funds: Deposited to your bank account as early as the next business day.

  • Comprehensive industry-leading support: The support you need, when you need it—24/7/365.

Contact Global Payments today!

Celebrating Our Industry

We want to celebrate you! Is your business hosting a special event or fundraiser? Are you celebrating an anniversary or important milestone? Has someone on your team been promoted or completed a certification? Have you opened a new or renovated location?

Let us know about your special moments, your amazing teams, and the things you’re most proud of. We’ll share your achievements in our newsletter or our social channels. 

Contact Ann Brydle, Manager of Membership and Communication, at ann@ablebc.ca or 604-688-5560.

Out and About with ABLE BC!

February has been a big month for ABLE! As noted above, we’ve been struggling with our email which has caused some delays and challenges. We’re back in action, though, and ready to help our members navigate industry-related questions and concerns. As a reminder, be sure to check your junk folder so you don’t miss any emails from us earlier this month. 

Last week, ABLE’s Executive Director Jeff Guignard was in Ottawa meeting with industry partners and government officials about the excise tax on alcohol, set to increase 6.3% on April 1, 2023. We’re working with our colleagues to freeze this tax and will provide updates as they are available. 

We’re beginning to make plans for in-person member meetings all over the province this spring! Do you want to host an ABLE meeting or want us to visit your community? Reach out to us at ann@ablebc.ca.  

Check out Executive Director Jeff Guignard in the media the last few weeks:

Join ABLE BC Today!

ABLE BC is  the leading liquor advocacy organization in the province. We have a proven track record of success fighting for the interests of Liquor Primary and Licensee Retail Store businesses. We are dedicated to helping our industry come out of the pandemic stronger than ever! 

We can’t do our work without the support of our members. ABLE is a non-profit organization and we depend on membership fees to continue to lobby and fight for your needs. 

ABLE BC members have access to several  benefit programs that offer exclusive discounts and are designed to help your business thrive. In addition to our benefit programs, we offer  expert advice, regular webinars, the annual  Liquor Industry Conference, and many  networking opportunities. 

Join ABLE BC Today!

Ann Brydle