Night mayor makes it easier for Ottawa bars to stay open until 5 a.m.

Ottawa Citizen

23-05-2025

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Ottawa nightlife commissioner Matthieu Grondin is making it easier for the city's bars to temporarily extend their liquor sales until 5 a.m.
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In the review of Ottawa's special events bylaw, which goes before council on May 28, Grondin recommends lifting the city's requirement for an additional license for venues seeking a temporary extension of hours — when they are already properly licensed.
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The move will streamline the process of extending alcohol-service hours beyond Ontario's regular closing time of 2 a.m., reducing paperwork and avoiding duplicate inspections.
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The existing bylaw, enacted in 2002, requires events where 'the principal activities include listening and dancing to music,' to obtain an All Night Dance Event license when applying to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario for an extension.
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According to city staff's review of the special-event bylaws, the license was originally designed to counter the popularity of 'underground dance events commonly referred to as 'raves.''
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The All Night Dance Event license calls for an extra round of inspections at the applicant's expense, a detail that Dagher said is unnecessary for a licensed venue.
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'It's like you're having to get a license over an existing license to do the same thing but at a different hour,' Dagher explained, adding that he's had some amusing encounters with inspectors while applying for the All Night Dance Event license.
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'They would come in and be like, 'Well, this is going to be quick because we were here not too long ago.' So we would laugh about it because it's just the process, but we always thought that somebody should challenge that,' he said.
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'The letter typically indicates that the City agrees the proposed event is of municipal significance, as it benefits the greater good of the city,' wrote Valérie Bietlot, the city's manager of public policy development, in response to an email inquiry. Final approval from the AGCO is still required for the extension.