Department of Public Safety New Brunswick Liquor Control Act Consultations Submission by: The Tourism Industry Association of New Brunswick September 2012 Background The Liquor Control Act has been in place since 1961 in the province of New Brunswick, and governs aspects of liquor control, sales and licensing in the province. Over the years, a number of amendments have been made to the act, but there has not been a full review in several years. Stakeholders have clearly stated that they feel it is outdated, and doesn t reflect today s standards and trends. The Department of Public Safety, responsible for the Act has agreed to open conversation with stakeholders, through a consultative approach, and hear comments and views that would address some of the deficiencies and modernize the Act so that it: Reduce barriers to industry stakeholders; Has an improved framework for licensing and enforcement; and Promote responsible consumption and reduces risk to the public. In a letter to the President of TIANB by the Department of Public Safety dated May 18, 2012, it highlighted the premise of the Liquor control Act consultations as well as the date, timing and locations of the public consultations. It is Important to indicate that the letter was sent to Mrs. Kathy Weir, Broadleaf Guest Ranch, as a Licensee and not as President of TIANB.
The TIANB Executive Director received a call from the Department of Public Safety on June 4 th advising of the public consultation being held in Fredericton on June 5 th, Edmundston on June 7 th, Saint John on June 12 and Moncton on June 14 th. Following this, TIANB sent a letter to Minister Trevors, dated June 15 th (Annex I), expressing our concerns at the scheduling of the public consultation, the late notification of the proposed scheduled to TIANB as the Voice of the tourism industry and the selection, or lack thereof, of a public meeting in the northern region, namely the Acadian Peninsula. In a response letter dated July 30, 2012, (Annex II), Minister Trevors indicated that TIANB was considered by his Department as an important stakeholder and prioritized sending notices to Licensees with the intent to meet with TIANB separately. He also indicated that a representative would be in contact with TIANB to arrange for a meeting. On July 26, Mr. Mike Johnston, Executive Director Public Safety, Compliance & Enforcement contacted the TIANB Executive Director to discuss the scheduling of meeting. Mr. Johnston was very forthcoming on sharing information to assist TIANB in preparing for a tentatively September 11 th, 2012 meeting. Suggested Points of Discussions In discussions between the TIANB Executive Director and Mr. Johnston, it was shared by the latter that meetings had already taken place with Licensees around the province and in an effort to being inclusive to all; a meeting with TIANB would be welcomed. Mr. Johnston highlighted the following point points of discussion for consideration by e-mail: License type Consideration re liquor/food primary and age restrictive/non-restrictive; Closing times- consideration re actual closing times, as well as extended grace/tolerance period; Bring your own liquor; Re-corking; Bottle service; Off sales; Exclusivity arrangements; Advertising restrictions; Due diligence re under-age and over-service; Minimum pricing; Establishing a Registrar and POPA fines to address matters of non-compliance. Adjudicator in place for more serious matters.
In the telephone conversation prior to the above e-mailed points of discussion, the following was suggested The Department of Public Safety (DPS) wants to take a risk based approach to the Act; DPS wants to have a regime that is cleaner; There currently exists an abundance of types of licenses; DPS is not looking at doing away with seasonal licences; DPS would like a quicker and easier enforcement in place; Comments received during the public consultations reflected a lot of talks on closing hours; Issue surrounding fake identifications; The NB drinking age compared to the province of Quebec; A list of items contained in the current Act to be repealed; Maximum seating; A more streamlined approach; Bring your own wine- ability for DPS to consider Re-cork could be a possibility Mandatory training to addressing Licensees liability responsibilities maybe of interest to DPS. TIANB Members input- As a member driven organization, representing the interest of over 700 tourism businesses in the Province of New Brunswick, TIANB s goal is to be relevant to its stakeholders by providing a consultative and collaborative approach in addressing issues of concerns. As with its endeavour to bring concerns, thoughts and ideas forth in this initiative from the Department of Public Safety to modernize the NB Liquor Control Act through a consultative process, TIANB conducted a survey (ANNEX III) of its membership to measure potential impacts and to provoke thoughts and ideas in addressing deficiencies and absence of important elements in the current Act and to move to a more relevant Liquor Control Act for the Province of New Brunswick. Recommendations for considerations- License type Consideration in reference to liquor/food primary age restrictive/nonrestrictive The New Brunswick Regulation 84-265 under the Liquor Control Act (O.C. 84-936), makes reference to eight (8) types of Liquor Licenses:
Dining Room License Wine serving License Lounge License Club License Club Licence under section 110 of the Act Special Events License Special Facility License Uvin/Ubrew License Although it appears that over the years, the Act and ensuing Regulation was developed to capture and provide for flexibility in the types of licenses available, it also came at a cost to businesses. Having a more versatile clientele subjected to significant cultural changes has resulted in more permissive patrons as it relates to access in licensed establishments. Therefore, establishments wanting to provide services, require multiple licenses, hence having a direct effect on fees, a more thorough application process and leaves to interpretation on enforcement of such licensing requirements by stakeholders. This is having a significant impact on the bottom line of businesses which are small to very small in scope. It is recommended that a full review of the types of licenses be undertaken by the Department in collaboration with License holders to streamline not only the types of licensing but also the application and enforcement processes. Closing time Consideration in reference to actual closing times, as well as extended grace/tolerance period. While some suggest more flexible hours of operations, others are struggling with ways to reduce over consumption that could potentially result. Where this issue is more prevalent in areas neighbouring the province of Quebec border it has also been raised by establishment operators in urban centers, whereby a prescribed closing time for all, leads to a large crowd gathering causing public disturbances. It is recommended that other jurisdictions be surveyed on the pros and cons of extending the current closing time and consideration be given for programs that would provide training and information on way to preventing over-consumption, public disturbances and ways to mitigating such undesirable circumstances.
Bring your own liquor Since March 2010, The Province of New Brunswick allows for patrons over the age of 19 to bring wine into a premise of a wine serving licensee for consumption with a meal. The wine must come from an approved source. Although the perceived attempt was to build flexibility into a more restrictive prior regulation, the end result caused the creation of new barriers to licensees. The fact of allowing patrons to bring their own wine into a premise only for consumption with a meal prevents wine bars establishments with outside patios or adjacent rooms where patrons would consume wine while waiting for their table to be ready or after a meal, to serve wine. Further to this, the fact of obligating the wine to be from an approved source prevents patrons from bringing wine acquired from outside NB. It is recommended this regulation be carefully reviewed to reflect today s reality in operators wanting to respond to patron s desire to a wine tasting experience from other regions of the world or to have some flexibility in the type of environment where the wine is served and consumed. Re-corking The current Act stipulates that unconsumed wine must be disposed of by the licensee and cannot be kept on the premises. This part of a more permissive attempt to bring wine into establishments by patrons is counterproductive at best. Not only would patrons be more hesitant to bring quality wine into an establishment under this rule, but this would indirectly encourage over consumption of wine. It is recommended the Act be revised to allow for wine bottles to be re-corked by the establishment, in a manner that is acceptable to the Minister and licensees and for a minimal fee by the licensee. Bottle service The current practice in disposing of empty bottles to recycling centers is at best cumbersome for most. Consideration should be given whereby a bottle service is provided by the supplier and direct credits be extended to purchases of new stock. Off sales
The current Act only allows NB Liquor and agencies the ability to sell to the public. It has been raised by some that more flexibility is required to providing a service to visitors to the province. Exclusivity arrangement It is felt that the exclusivity arrangement is a procurement monopolisation preventing access to product for resale at a reasonable price by licensees. The non-price competitiveness of the supplier has a direct impact on prices charged to the customers and on the frequency of patrons able to afford a dining or entertainment outing. For licensees, this is a direct impact to their business financial viability. This is more prevalent in regions bordering the province of Quebec where the price of Liquor is available at a much lower price. Furthermore, the current exclusivity arrangement causes hardship to growing alcohol tasting events throughout the province by preventing the availability of specialty product during those events. It is recommended that product pricing from the current approved supplier be reviewed and reduced so to allow for a more cost appropriate supply process. With licensees able to acquire product at wholesale price, this will enable them to attract more clients- a win-win situation for all. Due diligence to under-age and over-service Contrary to some of the other provincial jurisdictions in Canada, New Brunswick does not have a mandatory responsible service program. Available through a variety of training program provider, the Tourism Industry Association of New Brunswick (TIANB) has been offering a bilingual, in-class and on-line Responsible Training Program for a number of years. The details of the program are contained per ANNEX IV. Not only would this provide information to licensees on their responsibilities and liabilities, but this could also reduce Liability insurance premiums. Minimum Pricing- The result of the survey to the TIANB membership reveals no significant impact on the effect by the Department of Public Safety Regulation on Minimum price of liquor. Overarching consideration Compliance- The regionalisation of many services by the Government of New Brunswick and its employees and representatives often gives free course to the individual interpretation of rules, regulation and the law. At times, recipients of such services are faced with representatives that are ill
informed on the complexity of requirements on a case by case basis, therefore giving free course to unnecessary rules being imposed to one and not to others. This is the case of special events licenses and requirements, whereby certain conditions differ from an event say being held in Edmundston versus one held in Fredericton. It is recommended that the Department of Public safety ensure compliance officers are provided better training to ensure a level playing field in all jurisdictions therefore simpler rules would ensure compliance by all. Licensing fees - As much as it is the wish of the Provincial government to cut cost and reduce unnecessary expenses, the same holds for licensed establishments owners. The fast rising cost of doing business in the province of New Brunswick has forced entrepreneurs to cut costs and in most cases, has had a direct effect on the quality of services. As a service industry having for objective to creating experiences, the tourism industry operators that are also for the most part licensees, are subject to an unnecessary number of licenses, with significant fees attached. It is recommended, the Department of Public Safety review the types and usefulness of the current number of licenses and streamline with the goal of reducing costs to establishment operators. License procurement process One interesting comment that surfaced from respondents of the TIANB survey was the fact that liquor licenses need to be notarized every year. A simple question comes to mind Why? This unnecessary requirement proves to be an administration and a financial burden. It is recommended, the Department of Public Safety remove this requirement from the Act and ensuing regulation. Purchase of Liquor The amount of paperwork and related bureaucracy to make liquor purchases, big or small, is a major burden on operators. Especially when licensees have to pay the same price as a regular ANBL customer. It is recommended a card identifying Licensees be issued and during small order purchases, stock could be selected from the shelf and paid in cash at the store. Purchase of product from other provinces In an effort to address the needs of consumers and in promoting inter-provincial/international beers and wines, it is recommended to allow the beer and wine tasting events the ability to purchase directly from distillers, vintners or brewers of from liquor Control Commission
Conclusion- The Tourism Industry Association of New Brunswick would like to express its appreciation on being invited to the consultation process of the Liquor Control Act renewal. Being relevant to the needs of its members and the industry at large, we hope the information, suggestions and recommendations addresses the needs of the department, and most importantly, address the needs of the end users, the licensees. We remain available for further discussion and participation should the need arise and make this initiative one of our priorities. We respectfully submit this document for your consideration and should you require further clarification or information, please do not hesitate to communicate with our Executive Director, Mr. Réal Robichaud by telephone at (506) 458-5646 or e-mail at realr@tianb.com.