A barroom brawl may be brewing between City of North Vancouver council and the provincial government.
A provincial proposition announced in November to allow “all types” of B.C. businesses to apply for a liquor licence raised the ire of Sailor Hagar’s Brew Pub co-owner Brian Riedlinger.
“Many businesses – once granted a liquor licence – will stretch the rules of their licence to the nth degree,” he wrote in a letter discussed at council Monday. “We already have many food primary licences (restaurants) that act like bars … do we now want to have barber shops and bookstores operating like bars as well?”
Riedlinger’s assessment is “entirely correct,” according to Coun. Craig Keating. Keating, who also serves as B.C. NDP president, blasted the provincial government for a “liquor liberalization” policy that has hampered pubs.
“For about 40 years or so, neighbourhood pubs were probably a good investment. Right now you could not get a bank to loan you a dollar to invest in a neighbourhood pub,” he said. “They’re just getting hammered.”
Mayor Darrell Mussatto concurred, noting a long-standing balance in the community has “completely changed.”
Following a 9.7 increase in liquor sales from 2014 to 2015, a recent liquor market report recorded jumps in the sales of spirits, coolers and ciders, and beer. Wine drinkers sipped $21.8 million more in net sales in the second quarter of the 2016/17 fiscal year compared to the same period in 2015/16.
Those profits have come at the expense of pubs that are increasingly competing on an uneven playing field with restaurants, Keating said.
While most of council rallied behind Keating, Coun. Holly Back suggested allowing customers to savour a glass of wine wouldn’t change the core business.
“I was quite happy when I saw that hair salons could actually serve a glass of wine,” Back said, recounting when she would offer customers at her hair salon a drink.
“Let’s not get too upset and over the moon that we’re turning every business into a pub.”
Coun. Don Bell disagreed, suggesting the provincial government was looking to expand sales of a “devastating” drug.
“If it’s dealt with responsibly I guess it’s fine but unfortunately … a lot of people are not able to deal with it responsibly.”
Council voted unanimously to have staff report on steps the city could take to regulate the sale and consumption of liquor.
The new provincial rules would allow all businesses to apply for a liquor primary licence so long as they don’t operate from a vehicle or target minors.
Coun. Linda Buchanan did not attend the meeting.
