XPost: bc.politics, vic.general, van.general   
   From: ConsRCons@govt.cda   
      
     . . .  AND devastation of our agricultural and coastal lands with   
   pipelines and mines.  This is the same government that killed the NDP   
   through attack ads on their expansion of a SINGLE casino in Surrey.   
      
   Live and learn . . . .   
   ____________________________________   
   THE CANADIAN PRESS - January 31, 2014   
      
   B.C. liquor laws overhauled: Booze sales allowed in grocery stores, kids   
   in pubs with parents   
      
   New rules will do away with fences around beer gardens so parents can   
   stay with their family while drinking   
      
      
   The British Columbia government is lowering its inhibitions on dozens of   
   antiquated liquor rules and endorsing all 73 recommendations in a report   
   that includes allowing grocery stores to sell alcohol.   
      
   After months of announcing and re-announcing some of the proposed   
   changes, the government said on Friday that it fully supports   
   suggestions made by British Columbians during a liquor policy overhaul.   
      
   Justice Minister Suzanne Anton didn't say when the recommendations would   
   be implemented. But some of the changes, such as doing away with fencing   
   at beer gardens and increasing alcohol variety at sporting events, could   
   be put in place as early as the summer, she added.   
      
   "At family-friendly events, like most music festivals, for example,   
   parents should be able to wander the grounds with their kids and watch   
   the band rather than be caged off in the corner just so they can enjoy a   
   pint," Anton told reporters.   
      
   "This not only enhances convenience for families, it also saves money   
   for the non-profit groups that run many of our province's unique   
   festivals and special events."   
      
   The policy changes would also mean patrons would get to order   
   mixed-spirit drinks such as a rum and coke at music festivals, and at   
   all public areas in arenas or stadiums, rather than just beer, wine or   
   coolers.   
      
   Liquor sales in grocery stores — something already done in Quebec,   
   Ontario and Nova Scotia — was the most popular recommendation. Anton   
   said she is considering a "store-within-a-store" model, but specific   
   details still need to be worked out.   
      
   Guests at B.C. hotels would be allowed to bring drinks bought at the   
   lobby bar up to their rooms. Previously, only hotel staff were allowed   
   to carry the liquor up. The hours when guests can receive liquor through   
   room service will also be extended.   
      
   Happy hour — an event banned for years in the province — and allowing   
   children into pubs were also part of the recommendations.   
      
   The application process for special occasion licences will be   
   streamlined so that festival organizers won't be bogged down with   
   paperwork, the minister said.   
      
   The liquor branch receives 25,000 applications for special occasion   
   licences a year.   
      
   "It's a process that's become riddled with red tape," Anton said.   
      
   The government plans to streamline the process, move applications online   
   and create annual licences for organizations that hold occasional events   
   throughout the year. There will also be single special occasion licences   
   that cover multi-day events.   
      
   "This will save the applicants the hassle of sending in three separate   
   applications for a three-day festival that happens over one weekend,"   
   Anton said.   
      
   Meanwhile, people hosting family events will be able to serve homemade   
   beer and wine.   
      
   Bob D'Eith, executive director of Music BC, toasts the changes, saying   
   that getting rid of beer garden fences and cutting red tape will help   
   festival organizers reduce costs and give people a more enjoyable   
   experience.   
      
   "You stick a beer garden in front of the stage, you block the sight   
   lines. You stick it at the back of the stage and nobody can see it." he   
   said. "There's a lot of advantages for the public for doing this."   
      
   Anton maintains public safety is still a priority, and festival   
   organizers will, for example, need to demonstrate that they can keep   
   people safe and minors away from liquor before they can get a licence.   
      
   B.C. NDP liquor critic Shane Simpson said he agrees with many of the   
   report's recommendations, including a moratorium on new liquor store   
   licences. But he said that would mean grocery stores wanting to sell   
   booze will have to convince existing liquor stores to move in.   
      
   Simpson said he doubts liquor stores will agree to do that.   
      
   "If you have a liquor store next door to a Safeway or a Save-on-Foods —   
   a three- or 4,000-square foot liquor store in the same mall — are you   
   going to give that up to put a kiosk that might be 500 square feet   
   inside that food retailer? It doesn't make any sense," he said.   
      
   Anton said there are details that need to be worked out before all the   
   recommendations can be implemented, and she is aiming to make   
   legislative amendments at "the earliest opportunity."   
      
   "In other words, we've made a lot of announcements. They don't happen   
   over night, but they will happen in some cases fairly quickly, and in   
   some cases there are more extended policy development which is needed,"   
   she said.   
      
      
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        “It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save   
   the environment.”    ― Ansel Adams   
      
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)