Cactus Club Café and the law of Wining & Dining
Alcohol and Advocacy
by Dan Coles
1y ago
Imagine this: you and a date visit a restaurant and order a bottle of wine while you catch-up, consider the menus, and enjoy the ambience. After the better part of two hours, but before ordering and consuming any food, you order a second bottle of wine. Is this an entirely innocuous and unremarkable event? Or is it a contravention of the Terms and Conditions that are attached to all Food Primary Liquor Licences in British Columbia, and warrants the licensee suffering a monetary penalty in the amount of $1,000 or a licence suspension of one day? Unless you are a first time reader of Alcohol &am ..read more
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August, 2022 General Liquor Policy Changes
Alcohol and Advocacy
by Dan Coles
1y ago
So far 2022 has been a relatively slow year for policy changes by British Columbia’s Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch. Readers of A&A will know that over the last couple years (largely driven by COVID) government regulators had been rolling out some substantial changes to liquor policy. But 2022? Not so much. That changed a little on August 15, 2022 when the Branch published Policy Directive No. 22-13 that contained six changes to liquor policy. The changes are as follows: 1 – Buying Liquor: the Terms and Conditions Handbooks have been updated to confirm that licensees may only purcha ..read more
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Ikura Japanese Restaurant: Drinking, Driving and the Fit and Proper Analysis
Alcohol and Advocacy
by Dan Coles
1y ago
Ikura, located on Granville Street in Vancouver, holds a food primary liquor licence. At issue in the hearing before the general manager’s delegate was the Liquor & Cannabis Regulation Branch’s allegation that the licensee was in substantial breach of the terms and conditions of its licence by permitting someone to act as “manager” who was expressly prohibited from doing so. The Branch considered this contravention to be so serious that it sought the cancellation of Ikura’s liquor licence. You can read the enforcement hearing decision in full here on Canlii as part of the British Columbia ..read more
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Liquor & Cannabis Regulation Branch Enforcement Decisions now on CanLii
Alcohol and Advocacy
by Dan Coles
2y ago
Big news for British Columbia’s hospitality industry: enforcement decisions of the general manager’s delegates from 2022 onwards are now available on CanLii! Some time ago I participated in a short survey commissioned by the Branch canvassing views on how useful (searchable) the existing enforcement decision database is, and the merits of the Branch uploading its decisions to CanLii. I strongly supported this initiative. I came across this happy development earlier this week while perusing the compliance and enforcement section of the Liquor & Cannabis Regulation Branch website (as one doe ..read more
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Case to watch: Kirkland v. Attorney General of Alberta
Alcohol and Advocacy
by Dan Coles
2y ago
Kyle Kirkland is a member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. Since at least 2016, spread over two different pieces of litigation (2016 court decisions outlining his first lawsuit can be read here and here, and a 2021 decision here) Mr. Kirkland has been seeking a declaration that several sections of Alberta’s Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Act are unconstitutional, more specifically those sections that provide the police with powers to exclude and remove from licensed premises any person whom a police officer believes to be associated with a gang. The legislation came into force in October 2009 ..read more
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Alcohol & Advocacy Year in Review 2021
Alcohol and Advocacy
by Dan Coles
2y ago
2021 proved to be another banner year for blink-and-you’ll-miss-it changes to the liquor law landscape. Alcohol & Advocacy frequently describes the liquor laws in British Columbia, and across Canada, as “dynamic” and that remains very much the case. COVID continued to drive the bus as far as policy changes by the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch are concerned. COVID was also responsible for certain, shall we say stubborn, licensees becoming “former licensees”. This year we also saw some notable names in the trade, Burrowing Owl and Fets Whisky Kitchen, involved in contested court appl ..read more
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BOOM CHAKALAKA: Ignoring COVID Orders in BC can cost you your liquor licence
Alcohol and Advocacy
by Dan Coles
2y ago
Recent decisions published by the Supreme Court of British Columbia and the Liquor & Cannabis Regulation Branch indicate that across British Columbia liquor inspectors and environmental health officers (“EHOs“) have been busy monitoring food and beverage establishments for compliance with COVID related public health orders. Establishments that refuse to comply risk losing their business and liquor licences in addition to stiff financial penalties. Chakalaka Bar & Grill Ms. Panayiota Giannikos ran the Chakalaka Bar and Grill in Ladysmith, BC. The Chakalaka operated as a restaurant pursu ..read more
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The Lobster Trap v. Registrar (Alcohol, Cannabis & Gaming)
Alcohol and Advocacy
by Dan Coles
2y ago
In order to obtain (and renew) a licence to sell alcohol in British Columbia, the General Manager of the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch must be satisfied that the individual or individuals applying for the licence are suitable – meaning that they are “fit and proper”. To assist the General Manager (and his or her delegates) in making this determination the Liquor Control and Licensing Act provides that the General Manager may make inquiries and conduct investigations, including background investigations and criminal record checks, for the purpose of informing the exercise of this discre ..read more
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Dhaliwall v. Hook Restaurant Ltd: earning sweaty equity in the restaurant industry
Alcohol and Advocacy
by Dan Coles
2y ago
In July, 2021, following a four day trial, the Supreme Court of British Columbia released reasons for judgment in Dhaliwall v Hook Restaurant Ltd. The plaintiff Kayla Dhaliwall is a professional chef. The defendants were three restaurants in Vancouver: Hook, the Blind Sparrow and Bartholomew, where Ms. Dhaliwall acted as executive chef. The reasons for judgment can be read in full here. At issue in Hook Restaurant was whether or not Ms. Dhaliwall and the defendants had reached a binding agreement with respect to her earning a “sweat equity” interest in the to-be-opened restaurant Bartholomew ..read more
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McLaughlin v. Cerda: Post-shift drinks and the duty to warn
Alcohol and Advocacy
by Dan Coles
3y ago
On the evening of January 9, 2017, after finishing her serving shift at S&L Kitchen and Bar in Langley, Ms. Cerda remained in the restaurant to have a post-shift drink at the bar with several of her colleagues. Ms. Cerda and her co-workers, after finishing their drinks, had plans to travel to the newly opened S&L Abbotsford location (a related, but legally separate entity), where they had helped train the new staff, for dinner. Ms. Cerda only had a single drink after her shift – and she may not have even finished it. She hadn’t been drinking during her shift, and she had not consumed d ..read more
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