Province Updating Liquor Laws - Festivals

Cass · Post by **Cass** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 11:15 am

This is potentially great news for those that attend concert and other types of festivals:

McGuinty Government Proposes Removing Restrictions On Ontarians

Ontario is taking the next steps to update alcohol laws to better serve Ontarians. The proposed changes will remove unnecessary barriers and restrictions for special events, festivals, and licensed establishments. This will provide Ontarians with a more enjoyable experience, and improve tourism and local economies.

The province will begin consultations on a number of proposed changes, including:

Removing the need for beer tents at events and festivals so people can walk around freely with drinks
Extending the hours that alcohol can be served at special events, such as weddings or charity fundraisers, from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m., to be consistent with licensed establishments
Allowing all-inclusive vacation packages to be sold in Ontario
Allowing people to circulate in retail booth areas of festivals with beverages.
The government is also proposing to expand its enforcement options against licensees who violate Ontario's liquor laws, including monetary fines.

Modernizing the province's liquor laws is part of the province's Open Ontario plan to strengthen our economy and create new opportunities for jobs.

http://news.ontario.ca/mag/en/2011/02/p ... aws-1.html

SteelbackGuy · Post by **SteelbackGuy** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 11:24 am

Wow, a McGuilty initiative I actually support. Seriously sounds great!

Kel Varnsen · Post by **Kel Varnsen** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 12:48 pm

Sounds interesting. Although it makes me wonder how expensive an all-inclusive resort in Ontario would be. I mean my understanding is that the reason all-inclusive vacations in places like Mexico and the Carribean are cheap is because alcohol is cheap there making it near impossible for the resort to lose money from the average guest drinking too much. I mean when I was in St. Thomas last year the local K-mart was selling 60 ounce bottles of rum for under 20 dollars. But if resorts have to pay Ontario prices for their alcohol, I can only imagine what they would cost so that they didn't lose money.

The_Jester · Post by **The_Jester** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 12:52 pm

None of those things were really troubling me, but perhaps this will lead to other restrictions being relaxed.

Derek · Post by **Derek** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 1:21 pm

I can't help but wonder if they're candy-coating this statement:

The government is also proposing to expand its enforcement options against licensees who violate Ontario's liquor laws, including monetary fines.

That said, if there are rules, I think they should be enforced.

It really isn't fair when a lisensee 'bends' the rules for profit and leads consumers away from someone that's trying to make an honest buck. The problem is, rules often aren't applied equally.

Bytowner · Post by **Bytowner** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 1:58 pm

I'm still confused about the festival rules. I remember when this came up with regards to some Toronto festival and I and several other Ottawa BTs brought up the fact that you can carry around beer at BluesFest. Did anyone ever explain why that was allowed in Ottawa? Just curious, I can't remember.

Cass · Post by **Cass** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 2:03 pm

Bytowner wrote:I'm still confused about the festival rules. I remember when this came up with regards to some Toronto festival and I and several other Ottawa BTs brought up the fact that you can carry around beer at BluesFest. Did anyone ever explain why that was allowed in Ottawa? Just curious, I can't remember.

You can have the event be entirely licensed if the whole thing is 19+. This is the case with TFOB and Hart House, and it looks like this was the case for Bluesfest. Dedicated beer areas had to happen if an event is/was all ages.

For people who like going to fests like the Toronto Island concerts (and similar) this is great news. On the flipside, I wonder if this means that beer festivals could open to all ages which would also be significant progress.

TheSevenDuffs · Post by **TheSevenDuffs** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 2:03 pm

The_Jester wrote:None of those things were really troubling me, but perhaps this will lead to other restrictions being relaxed.

My thoughts exactly. But with Ontario liquor laws, any progress seems like massive progress...

JerCraigs · Post by **JerCraigs** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 2:07 pm

I would assume the festival rule would require more "booze police" at things like concerts, otherwise the concert would be liable for underage drinkers?

Bytowner · Post by **Bytowner** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 2:18 pm

Bluesfest is not 19+. I was at the Great Big Sea concert last year plenty of kids and plenty of beer.

Cass · Post by **Cass** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 2:22 pm

This must refer to drinkers and not all patrons then, as it's what I looked at.

http://2011.ottawabluesfest.ca/pdf/even ... s_2010.pdf

Anyway, maybe they were just breaking the rules or had some kind of special exemption. I know in Toronto you'd never find "walking around drinking" at an all-ages outdoor festival. Which is why there are articles like this:

http://torontoist.com/2010/12/villain_beer_gardens.php

Bytowner · Post by **Bytowner** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 2:25 pm

Hm, well they do operate the bracelet system. You need to have your ID checked and get a bracelet before you can go to a beer point, maybe that's the work around.

Kel Varnsen · Post by **Kel Varnsen** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 2:41 pm

Cass wrote:This must refer to drinkers and not all patrons then, as it's what I looked at.

http://2011.ottawabluesfest.ca/pdf/even ... s_2010.pdf

Anyway, maybe they were just breaking the rules or had some kind of special exemption. I know in Toronto you'd never find "walking around drinking" at an all-ages outdoor festival. Which is why there are articles like this:

http://torontoist.com/2010/12/villain_beer_gardens.php

That's kind of weird since Beau's Oktoberfest was totally an all ages event, it was actually promoted as a family event, yet people were walking around everywhere with beer. I wonder how they got around that.

Derek · Post by **Derek** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 4:19 pm

Modernizing liquor laws is definitely a good thing. There are so many archaic rules surrounding alcohol.

BC is no exception. Well into the '80s, restaurants could only sell bottled beer and draft was only available in pubs. And the restaurant/pub thing is still a bit weird. You can't take a minor into a pub... but some brewpubs actually have a separately liscenced restaurant section (which may not even be divided). I've also been into what looked like a sports bar, but after ordering a second drink was asked if we'd be ordering food or if we'd like the bill (clearly it was licensed as a restaurant).

Unfortunately, with our short political cycles, there's really not much incentive for change. Alcohol is often seen as a 'dirty' topic that could tarnish one's image. McGuinty has never been much of a libertarian. So what's the motivation? Those monetary fines? Tax revenue?

Yeah, I'm skeptical... but I'm not the only one:
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/201 ... r-support/

Kel Varnsen · Post by **Kel Varnsen** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 4:48 pm

Derek wrote:Modernizing liquor laws is definitely a good thing. There are so many archaic rules surrounding alcohol.

BC is no exception. Well into the '80s, restaurants could only sell bottled beer and draft was only available in pubs. And the restaurant/pub thing is still a bit weird. You can't take a minor into a pub... but some brewpubs actually have a separately liscenced restaurant section (which may not even be divided). I've also been into what looked like a sports bar, but after ordering a second drink was asked if we'd be ordering food or if we'd like the bill (clearly it was licensed as a restaurant).

Ah the old Pub-Style Restaurant. I remember seeing tonnes of those, even labelled that way when I lived in BC.

Actually I was back in BC a week or so ago and I ran into the weirdest liquor law I had ever seen. The brewpub spinnakers in Victoria owns a private liqour store, but it is in a different location than their pub. For some reason because of that the store is legally prohibited from selling the bottled versions of Spinnakers beers (which you can buy in other liquor stores and at their brewpub).