Would it be legal and could the city enforce it?
These are two questions Salmon Arm municipal council want answered in a future staff report on a requested bylaw to keep a minimum distance of one kilometre between future liquor retail outlets. This would include grocery stores that opt to sell wine, as is now permissible in B.C.
Requesting the bylaw is Hideaway Pub and Liquor Store owner Gord Erickson, on behalf of himself and independent liquor retail outlet owners, along with B.C. Government Services Employee Union president Stephanie Smith.
In a presentation Monday to the city’s development and planning committee, Erickson said local liquor retailers feel there are already enough options to access liquor in the downtown area alone. He also expressed concern regarding staffing at liquor operations in grocery stores, noting how his employees are well trained to sell alcohol, and if things aren’t done properly they can be severely reprimanded by the province.
“We’re concerned if the grocery people have wine and groceries and, eventually, liquor and groceries, will they be able to be as safe as us in doing that?” said Erickson. “It’s a pretty big concern. We have 16, 17, sometimes 14 year olds in the grocery business, out there stocking shelves, retailing groceries… How are they going to be as careful or be reprimanded if they do something wrong? So it’s a pretty big concern from a safety standpoint.”
Smith’s letter to council highlights similar concerns regarding grocery store wine sales, and advocates for a one-kilometre rule at the municipal level.
Erickson said he recently met and discussed these and other related concerns with Coralee Oakes, the minister responsible for liquor distribution.
“She explained while her ministry was setting guidelines for the whole province, each community was unique and that different models may be appropriate for different situations,” said Erickson, adding Kamloops and Port Coquitlam are among municipalities to have adopted their own bylaws.
City development services director Kevin Pearson noted his colleagues in Kamloops do not support the bylaw and noted it was a political decision. He added they are now reviewing their first variance request.
Couns. Ken Jamieson and Kevin Flynn said if they were to entertain a similar bylaw, they’d first have to know it could be enforced. Flynn went on to say he agreed with Erickson’s position, but acknowledged he might be in the minority.
Coun. Alan Harrison suggested there might be a way to address some of Erickson’s concerns and still allow liquor sales in grocery stores. But he also wanted more information before making a decision, such as how the province determines which grocery stores are allowed to sell wine.