Liquor Industry Update: May 18th, 2023

Dear ABLE BC Members and Industry Colleagues,

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

  • A Message from ABLE BC’s Executive Director Jeff Guignard

  • Liquor To Go FAQ

  • Reminder: Serving It Right Certifications

  • ABLE BC and BTAP Response to BC Cancer Agency Campaign: The Proof

  • LDB Update: Refunds for Excess Federal Excise Tax

  • Canada Digital Adoption Program

  • Uber Coming to Victoria and Kelowna

  • ABLE BC Member Webinar: Thanks for Attending!

  • BCHF Victoria Golf Tournament, August 23, 2023

  • Save the Date: Upcoming Events and Webinar

  • Out and About with ABLE BC!

Find all past updates here.

A Message from ABLE BC’s Executive Director Jeff Guignard

Last week, ABLE BC’s President Yvan Charette and I travelled to Victoria for a series of meetings with government officials, including Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General. As you may know, Minister Farnworth is responsible for both the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB) as well as the Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB).

While our meeting with Minister Farnworth was focused primarily on policy solutions to support legal cannabis retailers, we also met with senior leaders at the LCRB, including General Manager David Hume, to discuss priorities for BC’s hospitality and liquor retail industries. For example, we raised your concerns with liquor inspections and the Minors as Agents Program, the need to remove or increase the licensee transfer limit, liquor delivery issues, and a series of improvements to Terms and Conditions guides that would support your businesses.

Also last week, I joined industry colleagues from the BC Hotel Association, the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association, Restaurants Canada, and Rising Tide Consultants for a meeting with Vancouver’s City Council and senior staff. Given the ongoing process and licensing delays here in Vancouver, we have been pushing to create a working group of industry leaders to work directly with the city to prioritize logical and innovate reforms to liquor policy and licensing. I’m pleased to report that Council and staff were open to our suggestions and seem sincerely interested in supporting our industry as we continue to recover financially from the COVID-19 pandemic.

While we did not secure any specific announcements, our meetings were productive and we continue to make steady progress. I anticipate we’ll have further details on policy progress in the coming months.

In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact me at jeff@ablebc.ca with your liquor policy concerns.

Liquor To Go FAQ

During the COVID-19 pandemic, when British Columbia’s Liquor Primary and Food Primary businesses were closed for indoor dining, ABLE BC, BCRFA, and Restaurants Canada successfully advocated to allow hospitality licensees to sell liquor with a take-away or delivery meal. This interim policy was made permanent in March 2021 providing industry with much-needed additional income to support industry’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

 Recently, the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch’s (LCRB) compliance and enforcement team have reported troublingly high rates of non-compliance, particularly from Food Primary Licensees. ABLE BC reminded industry about this in December 2022. If non-compliance rates continue to stay as high as they are, government will introduce stricter enforcement up to and including removing the permission altogether.

In the first quarter of 2023, the LCRB conducted 168 inspections to both Liquor Primary and Food Primary licensees to ensure compliance with the requirement to sell food with liquor to go. Of those 168 inspections, 59 failed—an astounding 35 per cent failure rate.

To help increase compliance, we encourage you to review this FAQ with your team regularly. We also suggest reaching out to ABLE BC Associate Member Sting Investigations to conduct a risk-free secret shop. With their comprehensive feedback, you will be able to identify where your business may be non-compliant so you can make any necessary changes to house policies or staff training.

Reminder: Serving It Right Certifications

The Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB) Compliance and Enforcement team has reported an increase in establishments not having appropriate Serving It Right (SIR) certification for managers and staff, as well as not keeping up-to-date records of certificates in the establishment.

Please ensure all required employees at your business have a valid Serving It Right certificate. This includes employees who sell or serve liquor, employees who supervise the sale and service of liquor, and the licensee. 

Make sure you keep a list of all employees certificate information (name, SIR number, and expiry date) onsite. This list must be available anytime for inspection.

 Click here more information about Serving It Right.

ABLE BC and BTAP Response to BC Cancer Agency Campaign: The Proof

In our May 4 and April 20 newsletters, we shared that ABLE BC and the government-appointed Business Technical Advisory Panel (BTAP) wrote to government outlining serious concerns with the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) released Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health Report and the BC Cancer and the BC Ministry of Health campaign “ The Proof,” which aims to educate consumers about links between alcohol consumption and cancer.

We have begun to see “The Proof” ads and promotional materials spread widely and have heard concern from members about this messaging.

To be clear, ABLE BC supports education related to responsible consumption. However, we share your concerns this campaign misrepresents several key facts.

 For example, the campaign claims to reflect “Canada’s new Guidance on Alcohol and Health.” This is misleading, as the Government of Canada has issued no such guidance. “Canada’s new Guidance on Alcohol and Health” is a report written by the Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse. The report—which argues that no amount of alcohol consumption is safe—has been controversial since it was released.

 More importantly, we have confirmed directly with Health Canada that it has NOT updated its guidance to Canadians, which remains based on the 2011 Low-Risk Drinking Guidelines.

The CCSA report and the proposed guidelines have been controversial. Groups such as the  International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research have raised serious questions about the CCSA's study, and ABLE BC's  ABLE BC’s Executive Director Jeff Guignard has spoken with media about this several times this year:

In the letter ABLE BC and BTAP sent to government, we shared concerned about the apparent endorsement of the report by the Ministry of Health. Given the importance of public health messaging, it is our position that the CCSA’s report should not be used as part of any official Government communication such as this and should not currently be relied upon for any formulation of Government policy. 

The CCSA report also recommended placing warning labels on all alcohol products. As your industry representatives to government,  ABLE BC  has recommended against imposing any new regulations on the production or sale of alcohol.

We will update members once we have received a reply.

Please click here to read the full letter.

LDB Update: Refunds for Excess Federal Excise Tax Collected April 1-6, 2023

Last week the Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) Wholesale Operations posted the following update:

 As announced on April 5, 2023 , the BC Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) will be issuing refunds to any wholesale or hospitality customers who paid excess excise tax to the LDB for products that the LDB pays federal excise tax for (including all imported products, domestic spirits and/or domestic, spirit-based refreshment beverages).

The amount of excess excise tax paid between April 1 to April 6, 2023, is the difference between two per cent (current excise rate) and 6.3 per cent (previous excise rate).

Impacted wholesale customers serviced by the Vancouver Wholesale Customer Centre (WCC) will receive a credit on their account which will be deducted from their next invoice by the end May. 

Impacted hospitality customers serviced by BCLIQUOR or WCC Victoria will be mailed refund cheques to the address listed on their hospitality licensee registration on file with the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch by the end of June.

 Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Click here to download a pdf of this memo.

Canada Digital Adoption Program

Applications are now open for the Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP)!

This program is available to BC-based businesses looking to build or grow an online store. The federal government is supporting local businesses with micro-grants of up to $2400. Funds can be used for platform subscriptions, customer support tools, marketing and CRM software, cybersecurity, and more.

Click here to learn more and submit your application.

Uber Coming to Victoria and Kelowna

The province’s independent Passenger Transportation Board (PTB) has approved Uber’s application to transfer and obtain an existing ride-hailing licence held by ReRyde Technologies, allowing the company to operate in Victoria and Kelowna.

Uber submitted a request to the PTB in late August 2022 to take over the licence of ReRyde, a ride-hailer that was granted a licence to operate in areas outside of the Lower Mainland in August 2020.

Several years ago, the PTB gave Uber the green light to operate in the Lower Mainland but rejected its application for Kelowna and Victoria, saying it wasn’t “convinced there exists a public need for the service applied for.” 

An official launch date has not been set yet.

Click here to learn more.

ABLE BC Member Webinar: Thanks for Attending!

Thank you to everyone who attended our webinar Gratuities – Have the Rules Changed? earlier today! And a special thank you to Ryan Anderson of Mathews Dinsdale for his insights and information.

If you missed this webinar, a recording will be made available in the Member Portal next week. If you are an ABLE BC member but aren’t sure how to login to the Member Portal, please email Ann Brydle, Manager of Membership and Communication, at ann@ablebc.ca to get your password.

Our Member Portal is filled with tools and resources to help your business thrive. Find our FAQs, free pdf downloads, event registration, past webinar recordings are more!

You can also learn more about and connect with our valued benefit providers (Global Payments, Foodbuy, VI Banking, Western Financial, and more) and Associate Members. Browse through the member directory to connect with industry experts and suppliers.

Update your profile to ensure your contact information is correct and make sure you are subscribed to our bi-weekly Industry Update newsletter. You can also upload your company logo and social media channels and add employee accounts so your key staff can access the full suite of ABLE benefits and resources. 

Questions about the member portal? Email Ann at ann@ablebc.ca or watch the Member Portal introduction webinar.

Not yet a member of ABLE BC? Sign up today to gain access to all of our benefits and resources and support our important advocacy work!

BCHF Vancouver Golf Tournament, July 17, 2023

The  BC Hospitality Foundation ’s Vancouver Golf Tournament returns to Westwood Plateau Golf and Country Club for a 13th year on July 17! 

The BCHF is seeking experienced and aspiring golfers to come out and help raise money for the important work the foundation does with medical relief funding and for industry scholarships.

Monday, July 17
Westwood Plateau Golf and Country Club – 3251 Plateau Boulevard, Coquitlam

10:30 am | Registration begins

11:30 am | Shotgun Start 

Buy your tickets here! 

More info about the foundation here .

BCHF Victoria Golf Tournament, August 23, 2023

The  BC Hospitality Foundation ’s Victoria Golf Tournament returns to Olympic View Golf Club for a 9th year on August 23! 

The BCHF is seeking experienced and aspiring golfers to come out and help raise money for the important work the foundation does with medical relief funding and for industry scholarships. 

Wednesday, August 23
Olympic View Golf Club - 643 Latoria Road

11:30 am | Registration begins

1:00 pm | Shotgun Start 

Buy your tickets here! 

More info about the foundation here .

Save the Date: Upcoming Events and Webinars 

Check out these upcoming events:

Click here for full details on upcoming events and webinars.

Out and About with ABLE BC!

It’s been a busy spring for the ABLE BC team! We are working hard on cleaning out and organizing our office, replacing old furniture, and creating a welcoming space to work in.

Last week, our president, Yvan Charette, and executive director, Jeff Guignard, were in Victoria for several meetings with both members and government officials. Jeff and Yvan had lunch with local licensees Cascadia Liquor, Flight Cannabis, and Vic Pub Co before  meetings with David Hume, General Manager of the LCRB, and Minister Farnworth to discuss policy priorities and industry concerns.

 In between meetings, the ABLE BC team managed to have a bit fun! We had a team lunch at Niche Grocerant, a local associate member, and drinks at dual BCHA/ABLE member Hotel Grand Pacific’s new restaurant, Fathom. We also attended the Cowichan Winery Showcase to enjoy delicious local wines and connect with Island wineries.

Ann Brydle