Ski hills and golf courses are some of the businesses that will benefit from liquor law changes that B.C. Attorney General Suzanne Anton announced November 24.
Starting December 9, those businesses’ staff will no longer have to apply to government and pay a $330 fee each time they want to hold an event in an expanded licensed area, such as a putting green, patio or snowboard park.
Instead, Anton said, they will be able to apply once and pay a single $330 fee per calendar year and be able to hold up to 26 such events.
The change stems from feedback that Anton’s parliamentary secretary, John Yap, received last year, when he was consulting businesses about liquor law changes.
The Canada West Ski Areas Association told Yap that B.C.’s licensing system is bureaucratic and inflexible.
“Imagine anyone talking about government that way – ‘bureaucratic and and inflexible,’” Anton said at a news conference in Victoria. “Well, it turns out that they were right. So, we are eliminating a process that ski hills and golf courses found frustrating.”
She did not stop there.
Another change starting December 9 will be to allow so-called “liquor primary” establishments, such as bars, to hold liquor-free events on days when they are normally closed.
“If you’re a nightclub and you’re not normally open on a Monday night, you may use that venue on a Monday night for an unlicensed event,” Anton said. “Up until now, you haven’t been able to do that.”
