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 Prohibition had only lasted in this province for 3 years and was repealed after a referendum which asked citizens to choose between maintaining prohibition or the implementation of a government control system.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. 

Does Air Quality Science Provide a Way Forward on Covid Restrictions?

Details

Written by Mark Hicken Mark Hicken

Category: Latest News Latest News

Published: 27 April 2021 27 April 2021

A couple of recent articles (one mainstream media, one academic) provide interesting perspectives on recent Covid-Related Public Health Orders as well as providing a potential way forward for the hospitality and liquor sectors in terms of limiting Covid transmission during reopening. The first article is from the Washington Post. It describes how a California restaurant is using the latest scientific research on Covid transmission to create a safe dining environment by implementing ventilation and air quality technologies (How One Restaurant's Experiment May Help Diners Breathe Safely - also reprinted here at the SFGate site). The second is an academic study on Covid transmission from MIT (Covid19 Indoor Safety Guidelines - which includes an academic paper, supporting info, and even a web-based app to calculate risk) in which researchers provide fascinating models of Covid transmission risk - again based on ventilation and air quality. 

The articles are 'related' in that they are both premised on the ability of Covid19 to travel via aerosol particles in the air, which makes the virus more easily transmissible. Both also conclude that ventilation, good air quality and mask use are the best ways to restrict transmission risk ... and to make it safe for people to gather again in appropriately ventilated spaces. 

The methodology in the articles provides some interesting context for the current Public Health Orders affecting the liquor industry and hospitality sectors in BC (and other places). For example, if this reasoning is correct, then:

• Restrictions that make a distinction between indoor and outdoor gatherings would appear to have a scientific basis, except for the fact that they may be over-reaching or under-reaching depending upon how well ventilated the particular space is.
• Restrictions that make a distinction based upon the time that someone spends within a space would also appear to have some basis, since shorter times would lead to less exposure. 
• For example, in BC, our current Public Health Orders prohibit all indoor dining and permit patio dining. While basically sound, this would seem to be an overly simplistic approach since some "indoor" spaces are probably as well ventilated, or almost as well ventilated, as outdoor spaces. For example, in the Okanagan, I can immediately think of two restaurants whose "indoor" spaces are extremely well ventilated: anyone who has eaten at the Hooded Merganser in Penticton will know that when the patio doors are open, it is breezy, if not windy, given the restaurant's proximity to (above) the lake. Similarly, the Miradoro restaurant at Tinhorn Creek is perched high above the valley and when the patio doors are open, it is extremely well ventilated. There are similar examples in Vancouver (e.g. Ancora at False Creek) and, no doubt, elsewhere in the province. Indeed, in many places, the ventilation for a guest sitting 'indoors' next to an open window is probably as good as if the guest was sitting 'outdoors'.
• A new BC "Guideline for Outdoor Dining" document creates a complicated set of rules for qualifying spaces ... which partly reflect the above principles, but which are not precisely focused on ventilation and which could still exclude well ventilated outdoor or indoor spaces (including spaces that were previously ok). I note that the most recent PHO Order on Liquor Serving Premises includes some of these new guidelines. By contrast, I note that new rules for 'open air' dining in WA state are specifically focused on air quality level measurements so they 'follow the science' more closely. 
• BC's current restrictions on wine tasting pose similar issues. Under the current rules, it is permissible for customers to taste inside if they are standing, but not if they are sitting. They can taste outside either standing or sitting. Given the reasoning above, there may be some justification for the distinction because tasting outside is relatively safe and those customers who are standing inside might spend less time within an indoor space than those who are sitting ... but again the restrictions are probably overly simplistic ... because with indoor spaces, it is the time spent indoors that matters along with the ventilation. The virus does not care whether the customer is sitting or standing.
• Another relevant factor, which is not mentioned in the articles, is whether or not customers and staff have been vaccinated. This would also obviously affect safety and risks (i.e. indoor seating is for those who have been vaccinated??).

In respect of the above, and more broadly in respect of 'following the science', perhaps the Public Health Orders should be drafted so as to target ventilation and/or time indoors more precisely, rather than relying on categorizations such as 'indoors/outdoors'. The 'science' now seems to point to ventilation and time as the key factors ... if this is correct, then a more focused order might be framed such that outdoor dining or tasting is permissible ... and that indoor dining or tasting can also be permissible if time limits are imposed on customers for remaining inside or if that particular space can be demonstrated to have good air quality and ventilation characteristics. According to these articles, such characteristics are not that difficult to measure ... and relatively simple steps such as mandating that doors and windows are kept open could make a significant difference as to whether or not a space is 'safe'.

Regardless of the above, and for the near future at least, these are very interesting scientific studies. If nothing else, and if only to protect both customers and staff, it would seem wise for all hospitality and liquor businesses to maximize ventilation ... keep the doors and windows open whenever possible!