As Vancouver mulls extended drinking hours, hospitality industry says B.C. liquor laws still too strict

For some Vancouver nightclubs, opening for an extra hour is what can make them profitable in a given week, says Jeff Guignard.

Guignard, executive director of B.C.'s Alliance of Beverage Licensees, says it's about time that Vancouver changes its operating and service hours, which have largely remained the same since 2004.

"About half of the hospitality businesses in the province are still struggling to make ends meet. So this will go a long way to supporting them," he said.

Until March 9, the City of Vancouver is asking the public what it thinks about extending liquor service hours in the downtown core and beyond. The city has received nearly 3,000 survey responses so far, according to chief licence inspector Sarah Hicks.

The changes would allow all downtown bars, pubs and nightclubs to apply to stay open until 3 a.m. every night of the week. All Vancouver restaurants that are licensed to serve alcohol, not just those downtown, could also apply to serve alcohol until 2 a.m. every night of the week. 

But while the hospitality industry in the city, often referred to as "no fun city," welcomes the move, it says it's no panacea as other B.C. liquor laws are still too strict, preventing Vancouver from having a more vibrant nightlife.

'Real-life Footloose'

Bert Hick, president of Riding Tide Consultants, which helps businesses across the country get liquor licences, says liquor laws are more stringent in B.C. than in other provinces. 

"In British Columbia, having a liquor licence has always been viewed as being a privilege," said Hick, who also previously served as general manager of the B.C. Liquor Control and Licensing Branch (now the B.C. Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch).

"In other provinces like Ontario and Alberta, it's considered a right, like a driver's licence. You go through a basic process, and you get a licence."

To get a sense of how B.C. compares to other provinces, bottle service — where nightclub customers can order an entire bottle of spirits to their table — just became legal in the province last month, when it's been allowed in Ontario for more than 20 years.

Unlike some other provinces, B.C. has two types of licences that allow establishments to serve liquor. A liquor primary licence means a business's primary focus is offering alcohol. 

These licences take an average of five-and-a-half months to process and require local government input, which can delay the process longer, according to the Public Safety Ministry. Applications that require public input can increase processing times by more than 30 days, the ministry said.

It's why, Hick says, many businesses opt instead for the speedier food primary licence — they can still serve alcohol but food must be their primary focus. 

They have to deck out their businesses with tables and chairs and have to get permission before they can hold dine-and-dance or karaoke events. Currently, in B.C., there are more than 6,000 active food primary licences and about 1,800 liquor primary licences, according to the province.

Many businesses have been penalized for operating outside their licence class. Last year, a Vancouver Greek restaurant was fined $10,000, partly because it didn't have the proper licence to allow its customers to dance.

This month, a Prince Rupert, B.C., bar that holds a food primary licence was slapped with a $10,000 fine and a 22-day licence suspension after it served customers after hours and held a karaoke night against regulations.

"What are we living? Like a real-life Footloose?" asked Konstantin Nikolaou, operating partner of Vancouver pub Bimini's, referring to the film about a midwestern town where dancing and rock music were illegal.

"I just can't see why some of these regulations come into play. They're very complex, somewhat antiquated and very restrictive," he said.

Province reviewing licence classes

Michael Pederson, a Vancouver server and freelance writer who covers the hospitality industry, says he wishes B.C.'s nightlife was more like Europe's or his home country of Australia.

"I feel like the City of Vancouver needs to be more of a community, and removing some of these old laws I think would go a long way to achieving that," he said.

He wants to see less table service and more people be allowed to order food and drinks at the bar, creating more of a bar-hopping culture.

"I think allowing people to have that power in their own hands and have a quicker turnover of business might be worth exploring," Pederson said.

The province has signalled that it wants to loosen liquor laws, with Premier David Eby writing in the public safety minister's latest mandate letter to look to Ontario to "modernize" B.C.'s liquor licensing system and "expedite and simplify permits."

In a statement to CBC News, the province said that "liquor is a regulated substance that can have detrimental social and health impacts, and B.C.'s licensing framework is designed to balance business interests with public safety and community well-being."

It also said it's currently reviewing liquor licence classes to "better reflect a risk-based model and balance industry needs with public health and safety risks."