New Public Health Orders Require Proof of Vaccination
- Details
- Written by Mark Hicken Mark Hicken
- Category: Latest News Latest News
- Published: 12 September 2021 12 September 2021
BC's Provincial Health Officer has posted two new Public Health Orders which now require (as of September 13th) most wineries and liquor manufacturers to verify a customer's vaccination status before serving them: Food & Liquor Serving Premises Order and Gatherings and Events Order. I note that the orders make a distinction between manufacturer facilities that have seating (such as a tasting lounge) and those that do not (e.g. customers standing at a tasting bar for samples). The former are treated the same as restaurants and bars (and thus, proof of vaccination is required). The latter are treated like retail stores and are exempted from the order by the wording in paragraph M. I note that the requirement to provide proof of vaccination is necessary for the customer to be served ... so it should be sufficient to ask for that proof once a customer is seated (i.e. not at the door) which may make logistics easier. More details on the vaccine card requirements are here: BC Vaccine Card.
BC Wine & Spirits Summit Set for June 24th
- Details
- Written by Mark Hicken Mark Hicken
- Category: Latest News Latest News
- Published: 17 June 2021 17 June 2021
A complimentary virtual conference for the BC wine and spirits industry will be held on June 24th at 230 pm. The "BC Wine & Spirits Summit" will include two mini seminars and a round table discussion. Topics of interest to be addressed will include recent liquor policy changes related to Covid, liquor licensing and compliance issues, ALC and zoning issues, as well as a general assessment of the current industry landscape. The event will wrap up with a round-table discussion. The event is sponsored by Rising Tide Consultants. Speakers will include Bert Hick of Rising Tide, Tania Tomaszewska and myself. Free registration and more info is here.
BC Celebrates 100th Anniversary of Repeal of Prohibition
- Details
- Written by Mark Hicken Mark Hicken
- Category: Latest News Latest News
- Published: 10 June 2021 10 June 2021
Next week is the 100th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition in British Columbia. The last day of Prohibition in BC was June 14th 1921. The next day, June 15 1921, the "government control" system for liquor distribution and sales began with the opening of the first government liquor store (now "BC Liquor Stores"). Prohibition had only lasted in this province for 3 years and was repealed after a referendum which asked citizens to choose between maintaining prohibition or the implementation of a government control system. The government control option won handily: the vote was 92,095 to 55,448. The only areas of the province that voted in favour of prohibition were Chilliwack and Richmond. Both Vancouver and Victoria voted in favour of government control by margins of two to one.
The government then set up a system of control which was initially very strict. Early government liquor stores did not have windows (see photo above) and all product was kept behind counters. In order to purchase product, customers had to buy an annual or one-time permit ... and logs were kept of how much liquor was purchased by individual customers. One legal expert at the time warned that the switch to government control would create problems because a system that "swell(ed) the profits of the government monopoly" would lack "any moral or popular psychological backing". Nevertheless, that is what the people had chosen and government control went ahead, becoming a significant source of government revenue from that point onward. Eventually, and over the decades, the constraints were relaxed but the legacy of the system lives on today. There is still monopoly control over the wholesale distribution of liquor in BC. A significant portion of retail sales is still made through government stores ... and government collects large amounts of revenue from the liquor business. Indeed, it was only last year that government permitted hotels/bars/restaurants to buy alcohol at wholesale prices - almost a hundred years later.
Of course, efforts continue to "modernize" the liquor system and to remove lingering aspects of the control system. Nevertheless, in the mean time, BC's citizens can "celebrate" the anniversary next week ... by opening a nice bottle. Cheers!
Australia-Canada Wine Trade Dispute "Mutually Resolved"
- Details
- Written by Mark Hicken Mark Hicken
- Category: Latest News Latest News
- Published: 01 June 2021 01 June 2021
The WTO has announced last week that a "mutually agreed solution" has been found for the Australia-Canada wine trade dispute which involved challenges to various measures related to the sale of wine in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. As such, this long-running trade dispute has come to an end. The formal announcement is here: Report of the Panel. The final "report" does not provide much information on the settlement of the dispute although aspects of this were discussed in my earlier post here: Federal Excise Tax Exemption & Certain Provincial Preferences for Canadian Wine To Be Eliminated. In addition, the EU has posted a lengthy submission that relates to this dispute and which sheds light on many of the issues and positions of the parties which is discussed further here: Uncorking Canada's Import Measures on Wine. As discussed in this article, it is possible that these long-standing issues may well reappear in future trade complaints involving Canada.
BC Restart Plan Reopens Indoor Dining; Regional Travel Expected June 15th
- Details
- Written by Mark Hicken Mark Hicken
- Category: Latest News Latest News
- Published: 25 May 2021 25 May 2021
The Okanagan wine industry is likely relieved after seeing today's announced "BC Restart Plan". A phased reopening over the next few months will likely have the province back to normal by the fall ... and will provide significant help to the wine and hospitality industries earlier than that. The gradual reduction of restrictions is summarized clearly in this BC Restart Plan Chart (downloadable from this site). The government news release is here as well as a link to the entire media presentation: BC Media Presentation on Restart Plan.
The new Public Health Order (dated May 24, 2021) is here: Food & Liquor Serving Premises Order. Related guidance for the industry is located here: Province-Wide Restrictions. I note that at the time of writing this the earlier Gatherings & Events Order (dated May 7, 2021) had not been properly updated to reflect the updated restrictions indicated by government below.
In summary, the major changes that affect the industry are:
- Today: indoor dining is permitted with the same rules that were in effect prior to the 'circuit breaker closure'. In other words, physical distancing requirements and a maximum of 6 people to a table. Note: the recommendation that the 6 should be from the same household has been removed. Travel is still restricted but now permitted within your health region (so travel from the Lower Mainland to the Okanagan is still NOT permitted). Organized gatherings are now permitted with up to 10 people indoors and up to 50 people outdoors.
- June 15th (earliest expected date): Liquor service is expected to be extended until midnight. Organized gatherings are expected to be expanded to allow up to 50 people indoors. Travel between health regions is expected to be permitted (i.e. travel from the Lower Mainland to the Okanagan will be allowed).
- July 1st (earliest expected date): Indoor dining group limits are expected to be removed. Organized gathering limits are expected to be expanded even further and to permit "fairs and festivals". Canada-wide travel is expected.
- September 7th (earliest expected date): Expectation is a return to 'normality' or something close to that.