Weekly Liquor Industry Update: May 19, 2022
Dear ABLE BC Members and Industry Colleagues,
Here's what you'll find inside today's update:
ABLE BC is Coming to a City Near You!
Update on ABLE BC Liquor Primary and Licensee Retail Store Policy Committees
New Online Employer Incident Investigation Reports Application
GVBOT Blog on Bill 10: What You Need to Know
BC Tourism and Hospitality Labour Market Information – Employment Tracker from go2HR
BC Liquor and BC Cannabis Stores’ Customers Raise More than $1M for Ukraine
Join ABLE BC Today!
Out and About with ABLE BC!
Find all past updates here.
ABLE BC is Coming to a City Near You!
ABLE BC is hitting the road and hosting in-person liquor industry meetings around BC and we can't wait to meet you!
These meetings are open to owners, managers, and staff members from liquor stores, pubs, bars, nightclubs, hotels, and other liquor industry professionals. We are inviting both ABLE BC members and non-members, so please feel free to pass this invitation along to your hospitality and retail colleagues.
Come meet ABLE BC’s Executive Director, Jeff Guignard, for a discussion of:
· What is ABLE BC and how do we work?
· Update on current liquor industry issues
· Learn about the issues ABLE BC is advocating for and our progress on key policy priorities
· Learn about ABLE BC benefit programs
· Connect with other licensees and ABLE BC members in your area
· Question and answer period with ABLE BC Executive Director, Jeff Guignard
We look forward to meeting you face-to-face to hear about the issues that matter most to you and your businesses!
Do you want to host an ABLE meeting in your city? Contact info@ablebc.ca!
Come meet Jeff in:
· Osoyoos on Tuesday, May 24
· 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
· Owl Pub, 76013 Spartan Dr
· Nelson on Wednesday, May 25
· 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
· Adventure Hotel, 616 Vernon St
· Cranbrook on Thursday, May 26
· 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
· The Heid Out, 821 Baker St
· Fernie on Thursday, May 26
· 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
· The Fernie Hotel & Pub, 691 1st Ave
· Invermere on Friday, May 27
· 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
· Invermere Inn & Suites, 1310 7th Ave
· Revelstoke on Tuesday, May 31
· 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
· Regent Hotel, 112 First St East
· Vernon on Wednesday, June 1
· 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
· Prestige Hotel Vernon, 4411 32nd St
· Kelowna on Thursday, June 2
· 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
· BNA Brewing, 1250 Ellis St
· Kamloops on Friday, June 3
· 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
· Fox’n Hounds Pub, 945 W Columbia St
Update on ABLE BC Liquor Primary and Licensee Retail Store Policy Committees
Yesterday, ABLE BC’s newly-reformed Liquor Primary and Licensee Retail Store Policy Committees met to consider ABLE’s future policy priorities. Committees report directly to our Board of Directors and are comprised of select ABLE members representing a variety of business sizes and regions. Their mandate is to offer advice and perspective on ABLE BC’s current and future policy priorities and to ensure ABLE remains focused on the issues that matter most to you and your businesses.
If you have an issue you wish either committee to consider, please contact Jeff Guignard at jeff@ablebc.ca and Jeff will forward it to the appropriate Committee Chair.
The LP committee is chaired by Yvan Charette, ABLE President, and the LRS committee is chaired by Mike McKee, ABLE Director.
If you are interested in joining a committee, please reach out to jeff@ablebc.ca.
New Online Employer Incident Investigation Reports Application
WorkSafeBC is pleased to announce a new online tool to make it easier for employers to complete and submit employer incident investigation reports (EIIRs). EIIRs play a crucial role in keeping workplaces safe by helping determine why an incident happened and what can be done to prevent similar situations in the future
Your responsibilities to conduct and report on an employer incident investigation:
Under the Workers Compensation Act, employers are responsible for investigating certain incidents or near-misses that take place in the workplace and completing reports at specific points in the process. Employers can document their reports in whatever format they wish, with many opting to use WorkSafeBC’s fillable PDF templates and resources to complete their EIIRs.
New online Employer Incident Investigation Reports application:
To further simplify the process, WorkSafeBC is introducing a new tool that enables employers to easily complete EIIRs online and submit them to WorkSafeBC when required.
The new EIIR application is available through your WorkSafeBC online services account and allows employers to create reports at various stages of an investigation, prepopulate information from one report to another, save a partially completed report, and view previously submitted reports.
Learn more about the new EIIR application and how to access it through your WorkSafeBC online services account.
Learn more about employer incident investigations:
WorkSafeBC’s website has additional information on when you need to conduct an incident investigation and the stages of an investigation and reporting process. Our website also includes resources to complete your EIIRs, including our fillable PDF template reports for those who prefer that format.
Visit conducting an employer investigation to learn more.
GVBOT Blog on Bill 10: What You Need to Know
Last month, we shared information on Bill 10-2022, which would make it easier for workplaces to unionize. We are deeply disappointed that government did not consult with industry on this legislation.
ABLE BC recently joined the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade and 22 other industry associations in writing to Premier John Horgan to express our serious concerns over Bill 10 and the impact it will have on labour relations in BC.
You can read that letter here.
For more information about Bill 10, check out this recent GVBOT blog post. Authors Ryan Copeland, Mike Hamata, and Andrew Nicholl describe how the proposed bill weakens a worker’s democratic rights while undercutting fairness, clarity, and certainty for workers and employers. Furthermore, Bill 22 significantly weakens the democratic right for workers to exercise choice through a secret ballot.
Click here to read the blog.
BC Tourism and Hospitality Labour Market Information – Employment Tracker from go2HR
Have you checked out go2HR’s Employment Tracker lately? An output of go2HR’s BC Tourism & Hospitality Research Project, the Tracker updates monthly based on key statistics about the industry’s workforce.
The Tracker draws primarily from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), a monthly household survey conducted by Statistics Canada. The LFS is the most timely source of data on the labour market across Canada.
go2HR receives LFS tables generated by Qatalyst Research Group via Statistics Canada's Real Time Remote Access (RTRA) Program that follows the Tourism Satellite Account’s definition of tourism. This data enables go2HR to track changes in employment and major trends in the Tourism and Hospitality industry in BC and monitor the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on the Tourism and Hospitality industry.
Click here to sign up for monthly updates from go2HR.
BC Liquor and BC Cannabis Stores’ Customers Raise More than $1M for Ukraine
While BC’s private liquor retailers and government’s BC Liquor Stores can be fierce competitors, we stand united in our industry’s efforts to support ongoing humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. Customers at both public and private stores have been donating generously to the Canadian Red Cross’ Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Appeal.
We commend and congratulate the staff and management of BC Liquor Stores for their support of this cause. From February 28 to April 24, 2022, BCL and BCCS collected over $1 million in donations to provide emergency-preparedness support, relief efforts, long-term recovery, resiliency and other critical humanitarian activities in Ukraine and surrounding countries.
Click here to read more.
ABLE BC’s President Yvan Charette has also started a Go Fund Me with the goal of raising at least $25,000 for the Canadian Ukraine Foundation and Doctors Without Borders. Yvan and his business partner will match up to $25,000 in donations!
Have you organized a fundraiser in your LP or LRS establishment? Let us know! We are happy to amplify your efforts within the ABLE BC family. Contact Ann at ann@ablebc.ca
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.
Out and About with ABLE BC!
We are pleased to congratulate ABLE BC’s Executive Director Jeff Guignard for being named one of Western Living’s top 10 Foodies of the Year! Jeff has been recognized as a Foodie for his and ABLE’s role in helping secure wholesale liquor pricing for bars, pubs, nightclubs, and restaurants. This historic policy change is one of the most important factors in the road to recovery for the hospitality industry.
The Vancouver International Wine Festival is happening this week! Jeff and Director Mike McKee both attended the Bacchanalia gala and silent auction, which raises funds for Bard on the Beach. Ann and Jeff will be attending the Trade Days Conference on Thursday and Friday, and we hope to see you there! We’ll be spending some time at the BCHF booth, so make sure to stop by and say hello
