Liquor law changes force some bars to hike prices, emails to
province reveal.
Tuesday
December 9, 2014
By Bill Tieleman
"This is very dangerous -- $2
drinks? There is no way one can possibly staff for those prices in a
responsible way. Seems crazy..."
- Joey Gibbons, The Gibbons Hospitality Group, Whistler,
June 25, 2014
The B.C. government was strongly
warned in advance by several bar owners that its proposed happy hour would
actually increase prices, reduce competition and promote overconsumption,
according to correspondence obtained by The Tyee through a Freedom Of
Information request.
But BC Liberal attorney general
Suzanne Anton ignored critics and last June introduced happy
hour liquor law changes that she claimed would allow bar owners to serve drinks
at reduced prices during less busy parts of the day to encourage patrons.
Instead, the rule change had the
effect of increasing prices for a pint of beer by $2 or more and a
pitcher of beer by $5.
How is that possible?
Previously, there were no minimum
prices on how much a bar owner could charge for a drink. A bar could charge $10
for a pitcher of beer, for example, to draw customers. But the new rules mean
bar owners must now charge minimum prices for all categories of bar drinks.
That $10 pitcher of beer is now $15 at least.
After happy hour was implemented last June, Anton received many complaints from consumers that
drink prices had gone up, not down.
The 141-page FOI document clearly
shows that despite an extensive liquor review process, the government
disregarded B.C. bar owners' serious concerns first raised by The Tyee, namely
that large bar chains would squeeze out smaller operations.
Their worry was that happy hour rule
changes would force many independent bars to increase the cost of lower-priced
drinks -- such as beer and wine -- which had helped them compete with larger
chains.
Corina Aquino, owner of Mooses Down Under Bar and Grill in downtown
Vancouver, responded to a ministry request for input on Feb. 24, 2014 and
spelled out her fears.
"As owner of a small
family-owned business I am not too happy about happy hour as I feel that with
the competition I can be out-priced by the larger chains," Aquino said by
email.
"How will I compete with the
Donnelly Group or the Cactus [Club] or Joey's? My buying power is much less
than theirs. I am barely making a living as it is and to reduce my profit
margin with the hope of more clientele is not what I need at this moment,"
she wrote.
Aquino's worries were echoed by other
owners.
"Happy hour, given that as a
purchaser I am receiving no incentive whatsoever other than the mirage of 'a
busy bar is a profitable one' will benefit only those who have the purchasing
power to make up the loss in other ways," wrote the owner of one Vancouver
restaurant. "In other words, the chains just scored a huge victory."
Vancouver 'can't handle its drink'
The restaurant owner, who criticized
the liquor law changes in the email, asked that some of his comments be
"off the record."
"I'm also concerned because, and
I'll be quite frank as I have managed restaurants, bars and nightclubs here in
Vancouver and in NYC, Vancouver simply can't handle its drink," the owner
wrote, explaining that little has been done to promote responsible consumption.
"Vancouver has a black eye
internationally that has reared its head across generations when it comes to
public behaviour and alcohol."
"Happy Hour is as antiquated as
the laws we've just amended," the owner concluded, with underlining for
emphasis.
Other bar owners who responded were
pleased with the idea of happy hour but some had concerns about patrons
drinking too much.
"I wouldn't be comfortable
serving doubles during happy hour at a reduced price in order to control
consumption," wrote Maeghan Summers, general manager of The Noble Pig
Brewhouse in Kamloops. "We see it being a tool to fill quiet times and to
feature new food items that go with the beverage features."
If bar owners were worried about
unfair competition, loss of profits and danger from over-consumption, many
consumers wrote the government that they were furious that happy hour forced
drink prices to go up, not down.
In one of many emails obtained
through FOI one consumer wished to "voice my extreme dismay at the recent
increase in liquor prices instituted under the guise of 'Happy Hour.'"
"In short, this is an obvious
tax grab (higher prices = more liquor tax collected). This is also an obvious
barrel of pork for the bigger licensees, such as those represented by ABLE [the
Alliance of Beverage Licensees of BC], whereby you have given them the means to
keep their prices high and to avoid competition, at the expense of all British
Columbians and the possibility of a more modern and healthy social
environment," the consumer - whose name was removed in the FOI - wrote.
And he or she warned that their
political support for the BC Liberals was in jeopardy.
"By these actions, the BC
Liberal Party, and the LCLB in particular, have lost 100 per cent of my faith
and trust, as well as my vote. Not only will I be continuing to oppose these
changes, but I feel betrayed enough that I am seriously considering working
against the BC Liberal Party in general, and actively supporting a different
party which puts the interests of ordinary British Columbians first," the
consumer wrote, copying it to New Democrat MLA Shane Simpson.
Some of the correspondence sent to
the government is humorous, as well as pointed.
"BC's minimum [alcohol] pricing
is 40-50 per cent higher than the rest of Canada... I don't believe B.C.
residents are 50 per cent wealthier than Ontario or 50 per cent more
susceptible to intoxication than other provinces," another unnamed person
from Vancouver wrote on June 23.
"As a consumer, I felt the
impact immediately, when I went to one of my local restaurants (a Japanese
tapas place on Smithe) for appetizers and beer with friends, and the price had
been raised from $10 to $15 over-night on their draft beer," the person
wrote.
"There was no notice or public
consultation on this minimum pricing. It was announced on Friday, effective
immediately and the news release stated business owners and industry
associations were consulted; it seems consumers were left out," the writer
concluded.
Another wrote to Anton on June 23:
"While the whole city was looking forward to happy hour, now that it is finally
in place, the set 'minimum' pricing is absolutely ridiculous. We are the most
expensive in the country by a long shot, and in fact drink prices will INCREASE
in certain situations."
"This is NOT happy hour. Every
other city in the world has a happy hour. We finally get the law passed, and
our government still screws up?"
There's still more information to
come from my Freedom Of Information request. This was only a partial
disclosure.
But one thing is already abundantly
clear -- the B.C. government ignored all warnings from bar owners about unfair
competition and overconsumption and imposed a happy hour that raised drink
prices, then thumbed its nose at consumer complaints.
Happy hour made some very happy -- just not independent
bars or consumers.
.
