Vancouver city council extends downtown liquor serving times
Several business owners spoke at council in support of the motion, applauding the decision.
"This is changing the perception of 'liquor primary licence' to 'vibrant gathering places' for communities to meet in real life," said Cameron Bogue, owner-operator of Mount Pleasant Vintage and Provisions.
"I've opened one of the most successful restaurants in the city, with staggering year-over-year growth, because we're providing [what] the community wants — a place to socialize, rub elbows, simply stand with a drink, and dance where they can meet people in an engaging, high-volume cocktail bar."
Where and when can you drink?
Liquor-primary establishments like bars and pubs inside downtown Vancouver will be able to make an application to the province to serve alcohol until 4 a.m.
Outside of downtown, businesses will be able to apply to serve drinks until 3 a.m. on weekends and 2 a.m. on weeknights. Restaurants will also be able to apply to sell alcohol until 2 a.m.
The change, expected to be in place later this year, aligns with B.C.'s present rules on serving liquor from 9 to 4 a.m. Local governments are able to adjust their hours according to community needs.
While others in the industry reflected Bogue's support, a Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) officer advised council to reconsider expanding drinking hours.
Extending hours risky, says medical health officer
"Increasing alcohol consumption into the late night or early morning hours is particularly risky, and the risk increases as you get later in the evening," said Mark Lysyshyn, medical health officer, VCH.
"It's not so much that more people drink into the evening — it's just the type of drinking that's done in that timeframe is more risky, it's more likely to result in problems," he said referring to a risk of injuries, violence and the potential for harm to others compared to allowing earlier opening hours.
Coun. Pete Fry said he would "reluctantly" support the motion and shared concerns about possible increased policing costs that may be incurred if serving hours extend to 4 a.m.
"I say 'reluctantly' because I would have liked to see more staff input on what this means for resources, what this means for policing, and what this could potentially mean for opportunities, especially with FIFA coming," said Fry.
"I imagine the majority of businesses won't support it unless there's a viable output for a 4 a.m. closure," he added.
City staff don't expect every bar and pub in the city to extend their hours right away.
"Staff anticipate it's likely going to be a slow uptake," said Sarah Hicks, chief licence inspector, with the City of Vancouver.
"It really needs to make economic sense for businesses. In order to look at expanding those hours. There's increased costs for staffing. They have to consider being able to provide that ... [in] the application with the province in order to go through with that, so it's likely going to be a slower uptake with any of these changes."
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