Liquor Industry Update: November 30 , 2023
Dear ABLE BC Members and Industry Colleagues,
Here’s what you’ll find in today’s update:
Fighting against wine in grocery
LCRB Liquor Policy Changes
LCRB License Compliance Inspections
Reminder: BC’s Securing Small Business Rebate Program Open Now
Planning for a patio this summer?
Patios for Vancouver licensees
ABLE BC Joins IARD Global Standards Coalition
Fall 2023 Federal Economic Statement
WorkSafeBC: Information on First Aid Regulatory Changes
Cannabis Corner: Help Support Our Advocacy Efforts
go2HR: Recruitment Strategy Through an Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Lens
Out and About with ABLE BC
Fighting Against Wine in Grocery
Last Monday evening (Nov. 20.), ABLE BC showed up in force to fight against a possible expansion of wine on grocery shelves in Coquitlam. Coquitlam Council was considering an application by Real Canadian Superstore (i.e. Loblaws) to transfer an existing Special Wine on Shelves licenses to 1301 Lougheed Highway. As grocery wine on shelves licenses are not subject to the same provincial 1 km distance rule as LRSs and BC Liquor Stores, the proposed location is only 150 m from a private liquor store.
ABLE BC President Yvan Charette (MyPubGroup) and Executive Director Jeff Guignard were joined by members Gordy Cartright (Woody’s on Brunette), Troy Bilodeau (Berezan Group), and Brent Lepinksi (John B Pub & Liquor Store) at the meeting to speak on behalf of our industry’s interests. You can watch Jeff’s presentation here , Yvan’s presentation here , and the full recording of the meeting here.
Council deferred the vote on the application, so we’ll report back as soon as we know the results. In the meantime, we sent a strong message to grocery retailers that we will defend the interests of BC's private liquor retailers at every opportunity.
If you hear about a grocery store attempting to retail wine in your community, please contact jeff@ablebc.ca.
LCRB Liquor Policy Changes
As a result of ABLE BC’s ongoing advocacy on your behalf, the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB) released several updates this week to Liquor Policy manuals. These updates are effective immediately.
Bulletin 23-09: Physical separation between liquor retailer and other businesses
Liquor retail licensees were previously required to physically separate their stores from other businesses using floor-to-ceiling walls. The new amendment allows Licensee Retail Stores, Rural Licensee Retail Stores, and Wine Stores to be separated from any other business in any manner satisfactory to the General Manager.
Bulletin 23-10: Accompanying minors in liquor stores and liquor primary establishments
Minors previously needed to be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian to enter some liquor-licensed establishments that allow minors, which led to confusion of the term “guardian. Regulations have been amended so that minors can be accompanied by a variety of “responsible adults,” including a stepparent, a grandparent, the spouse of the minor, or other adult who could reasonably be expected to act in place of a parent and be responsible for supervision of the minor.
Bulletin 23-11: Increase in liquor transfers between licenses
After years of advocacy, licensees who hold multiple licenses may now purchase and sell up to $100,000 of liquor between their own licenses annually. This is a ten-fold increase from the previous $10,000 limit. The change allows licensees increased flexibility to transfer their inventory between establishments of common ownership.
Bulletin 23-12: Clarification of renewal fee calculations
Purchases made from another licensed establishment are now excluded from the renewal fee calculation. The way renewal fees are currently calculated is not changing and is still calculated based on the amount of liquor purchased during the 12-month period ending six months before the license expiry date.
For more details on these changes, visit the Bulletins section on the LCRB website.
LCRB License Compliance Inspections
As many of you have noted, the lines between different license classes can sometimes become blurred. For example, we have heard concerning reports of Food Primary venues selling liquor to-go without an accompanying take-out or delivery meal. To provide clarity for all licensees, and to help to ensure that licensees are operating in accordance with the primary purposes of licences, the LCRB is currently conducting increased compliance inspections of food-primary venues.
The LCRB will prioritize inspections of establishments with existing complaints and will determine the status of compliance or non-compliance. Consequences for non-compliance will differ on a case-to-case basis.
Should you have any concerns about a licensee operating contrary to the primary purpose of its license, please contact Executive Director Jeff Guignard at jeff@ablebc.ca.
For more information on LCRB inspections, click here.
Reminder: BC’s Securing Small Business Rebate Program Open Now
The BC Government’s $10.5-million Securing Small Business Rebate Program is designed to ease the financial burden on small businesses like you—who are bearing the brunt of a staggering increase in vandalism, theft, and property crime. To help ease the pain, BC’s small business owners are now eligible to be reimbursed up to $2,000 per business for costs incurred due to vandalism. Businesses may also claim up to $1,000 for preventative measures such as security cameras.
Applications are open until Jan. 31, 2025 and are retroactive to Jan. 1, 2023 to cover any costs incurred over the year.
This rebate is offered at a first-come, first-served, basis. As such, we encourage members to apply as soon as possible.
Click here for more information.
Planning for a patio this summer?
Are you planning to operate a patio this summer? Whether you’re looking to build a new patio—or were previously approved for a Temporary Expanded Service Area (TESA)—you must apply to the LCRB to license your temporary patio permanently.
As members will recall, ABLE BC partnered with the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association (BCRFA), Restaurants Canada, the BC Craft Brewers Guild, and others to extend the previous TESA deadline to December 31, 2024. Businesses looking to keep their TESA beyond December 31, 2024 must apply for a new outdoor patio (for outdoor TESAs) or permanent structural change (for indoor TESAs). ABLE BC urges licensees to begin the application now as they can take up to 10 months to process. Applications are made by logging into the liquor and cannabis licensing portal.
For more information on applying for a permanent service area, click here.
You can reach out to LCRBLiquorPolicy@gov.bc.ca if you have questions about the TESA policy.
Patios for Vancouver licensees
In addition to complying with provincial government patio requirements, Vancouver licensees wishing to serve alcohol on a patio must also secure permission from the City of Vancouver.
To apply for a new patio, contact patios@vancouver.ca asap to avoid. Patio drawings need to be approved and stamped by the Vancouver Fire Rescue Service before being included in your TESA authorization application.
For licensees who have previously had a summer patio permit, no action is required at this time. Renewals for summer patio permits will begin March 1, 2024.
ABLE BC Joins IARD Global Standards Coalition
ABLE BC has joined the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD) Global Standards Coalition.
IARD is a global coalition of over 80 organizations who have come together to promote responsible consumption and smart liquor laws. Signatories are putting in place policies and practices that prevent the sale and marketing of alcohol to minors, are supporting employees and partners with resources, and are working together to reduce harmful drinking.
This work is in addition to ABLE BC’s existing support for the Canadian Alliance for Responsible Drinkers (CARD).
Click here for more information about the IARD Global Standards Coalition.
Fall 2023 Federal Economic Statement
On Nov. 21, the federal government released its Fall Economic Statement, which detailed several measures aimed at making housing more affordable, cracking down on short-term rentals, and to stabilize grocery store prices. You can read further details here.
Many in industry had hoped to see a further extension of Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loans, which are due by Jan. 18, 2024. During the pandemic, the Government of Canada offered interest-free loans of $60,000 to nearly 900,000 businesses, and promised to forgive one-third of the loan (i.e. $20,000) if businesses repaid loans by the deadline. While the deadline has been extended before (from the end of 2022 to the end of 2023, then to Jan. 18, 2024), our most recent surveys suggest the 80 per cent of industry is unable to repay at this time. Those who cannot repay will be required to pay the full $60,000 loan, plus interest.
We are disappointed that our federal government partners failed to understand the serious financial pressure our industry is experiencing. More debt is clearly not the solution. ABLE BC—along with a broad coalition of industry partners—have requested another extension of interest-free repayment terms for another year.
We will continue to press government for this change in the weeks ahead.
WorkSafeBC: Information on First Aid Regulatory Changes
In April, WorkSafeBC approved changes to Part 3 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. These changes will take effect on November 1, 2024. Further guidance has been added to the WorkSafeBC backgrounder to help both employers and workers navigate updates.
The addition guidance is summarized below:
Guidance on “less-accessible” workplaces
“Less-accessible” workplaces include workplaces that ambulances cannot easily reach by land, and workplaces where BC Emergency Health Services ambulance attendants may not be able to safely access an injured worker. The backgrounder now includes guidance on identifying “less-accessible” workplaces.
Alignment with the CSA standards
Information has been added on updated first aid training program names and shortened course duration for Intermediate First Aid (currently OFA 2). Basic information on new first aid kits and equipment requirements has also been added.
Emergency transportation
The amended Occupational Health and Safety Regulation requires written first aid procedures to identify how workers will be accessed and moved if there are barriers to first aid, and the location and method of emergency transport where required. Information on the minimum requirements for emergency transportation has been added.
More resources from WorkSafeBC are available here:
go2HR: Recruitment Strategy Through an Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Lens
go2HR is a regular contributor to the ABLE BC Liquor Industry Update newsletter, providing tips and guidance on current HR trends, new legislation, employee recruitment and retention, and more. To read the latest instalment, sign in to the member portal or sign up for the newsletter.
Cannabis Corner: Help Support Our Advocacy Efforts
As ABLE BC works to support BC’s cannabis retailers, we meet regularly with various officials at the LDB, LCRB, and with elected officials in the federal, provincial, and municipal governments.
In case you missed it, the latest BC Cannabis Wholesale’s Quarterly Sales Report is out now. The report helps in assessing product trends and compares Q2 wholesale data of 2023 and 2022 (July, Aug, Sept). It also shares this quarter’s sales results for the LDB's Direct Delivery (DD) program, which was launched in August 2022. Check out our breakdown of the report in our latest Cannabis Industry Update here.
Want to get involved in our cannabis advocacy? To join our Cannabis Committee, contact our Head of Cannabis Membership Bo Chen at bo@ablebc.ca.
Do you own a cannabis retail store? Sign up now for an ABLE BC cannabis membership to support the work we do on your behalf. Sign up with code ABLECAN1 to save $100 off a cannabis membership for your first store, and code ABLECAN2 to save $50 off a membership for each additional store
Click here to join as a cannabis member now!
Out and About with ABLE BC
The ABLE BC team attended several industry events this week, including the launch party for Vancouver Cocktail Week 2024.
The event celebrated Vancouver’s thriving cocktail culture and featured world-class, award-winning bartenders and brands. 2024’s Vancouver Cocktail Week runs from March 3 to 10, 2024, and tickets go on sale Dec. 1.
ABLE BC in the News
ABLE BC’s Executive Director Jeff Guignard appeared in the following media over the past two weeks: