Changing liquor laws for festivals: absolute chaos or a welcome change?

The Ontario government is considering a series of changes to the province's liquor laws, ones which would allow festival guests to drink later into the evening - and more freely.

Last month, the province said it would begin consultations on "taking the next steps to update alcohol laws to better serve Ontarians."

The most significant change calls for removing the need for beer tents at events and festivals, such as the Vankleek Hill Fair, the Glengarry Highland Games and Oktoberfest, and allowing people to roam freely with drinks.

The changes would also extend the hours that alcohol can be served at special events, such as fundraisers or weddings, from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m.

"We would like to hear from Ontarians on getting rid of outdated restrictions that just don't make sense," said attorney general Chris Bentley, in a statement. "We would only proceed with changes that would not compromise enforcement of the law."

Local festival organizers divided

Bill Shields, the hospitality chairman for the Glengarry Highland Games, said despite the proposed legislation, there are no plans to change the rules - or remove the beer tent.

He said after consulting the local liquor inspector, he discovered it is up to each municipality or event organizer to decide how to apply the laws, even if there is a change at the provincial level.

"Really, what it comes down to, is that you don't have to let the people wander around," he said. "All the laws are there for everyone's protection. I would never consider just letting the public wander the grounds, walking around with drinks in their hands. There'd just be absolute chaos."

Shields said he believed the changes were aimed at larger festivals, such as Bluesfest in Ottawa, where beer drinkers are unable to purchase food from vendors because they can't leave the designated drinking area.

For local festivals - and especially the Highland Games - he said the changes simply do not apply.

"Our liquor laws are antiquated, for sure, but I don't know where they're headed with this," he commented. "In our situation, we have fenced areas that we control the crowds with, and we have grandstands... you couldn't allow people to be drinking and going up into them.

"I don't think the whole thing has been thought through. I just don't know where they're coming from with this."

Shields specified that the permanent license used by the Highland Games technically allows for minors to enter the beer tent, but that such an idea "would just be crazy."

"You'd never have enough security," he explained, adding the new changes, if passed, would be open to interpretation in the same manner. "You can say, as an organizer, 'Just a minute. You can walk around freely, but where we say you can walk around freely.' It's not just going to be a free-for-all."

"But it'll be interesting to see how it all works out. We've already made our decision, and I don't see anything changing."

Steve Beauchesne, co-owner of Beau's All-Natural Brewery in Vankleek Hill, said the proposed change would be "very welcome" when it comes to organizing the brewery's annual Oktoberfest event.

"There are a number of festivals that have moved to license the entire area as one large beer garden, which is what we've done," he told The Review this week. "It's much more onerous that it should be, because if [the province] passed these laws, number one - at the fairgrounds - is that someone could buy a beer and not be confined. At our festival, it takes a whole lot of work to maintain that much of a security perimeter, as we have to make sure people can't get in and out without their drinks."

Beauchesne said there are enough laws against public intoxication and protecting the public from irresponsible service on the festival's end, and the focus on "maintaining a perimeter" means that security resources are not used effectively.

"You don't need two laws to protect people against the same thing," he added. "This kind of extra law, where you have to confine people as sheep, it really assumes that people aren't capable of taking care of themselves. We could use that security for making sure people stay safe, and making sure people are behaving themselves.

"What happens, when they do it this way, is that you've got all your security watching a fence. If people break the law and people get served past intoxication, there's just as much chance they'll do something wrong outside of that fence as inside. It makes people worry about the wrong thing. Being safe and having a good time is what the festival should be focusing on... herding cattle is just not effective."

He contended the changes do not "take anything away from the liquor inspector, or the public's right to being safe," and that training programs, existing laws governing alcohol, and the festival organizer's own responsibilities will maintain the "safe atmosphere."

"I would argue the public is more protected," Beauchesne continued. "I really believe the more you force people into a confined space, the more you encourage them to over-consume. By letting them go with their drink to enjoy the festival, they're more likely to get involved in an activity, have a meal, or anything else. But by forcing them into a beer tent and not allowing them to wander, I personally feel that it encourages over-consumption."

What the police are saying

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) detachment commander for Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry said the department's position is that the changes are "still being debated."

"It's nowhere near (being implemented), because it is, in fact, a new law," OPP Insp. Mike McDonell told The Review. "We are looking forward to this discussion, for that reason, because I do believe it will be well debated."

He would not comment, however, on whether the changes would make enforcement at festivals more difficult for officers.

"We're a community police force so we support the community," he said. "Our community has different ways to fundraise and, in my experience, they've all been well-managed or well-policed."

Convenience stores weigh in

Following the province's announcement, Ontario's convenience store operators also weighed in on the debate, saying the government should consider allowing the sale of beer and wine in their shops - similar what is permitted in neighbouring Quebec.

"We know buying things like beer and wine at convenience stores is something that Ontarians want," said Dave Bryans, president of the Ontario Convenience Stores Association, noting polls indicated 63 per cent of the province supports the idea.

He said if the government has confidence in the LCBO's responsibility to verify legal age, it should be "supremely confident" in the convenience story industry.

"If the provincial government really wanted to liberalize Ontario's liquor laws to cut responsible adults a little slack from the bureaucracy, they should be looking at how they can actually make it more convenient for people to buy beer for the weekend or that bottle of wine for dinner."

Jacques Lalande, owner of the Lalande Dépanneur in Vankleek Hill, said he couldn't agree more with that statement.

"Of course, I'd love to sell it," he replied, when asked about selling beer and wine in his store. "But I don't think I'll ever see the day."

Lalande, who has owned and operated the convenience store for seven years, said the resulting competition would inevitably bring more small businesses to the province - but neither the government, nor the association of brewers that owns The Beer Store, would be keen on allowing it.

"There would definitely be more dépanneurs, just like in Quebec," Lalande said. "It would create more jobs, too."

He said the closest he can get to selling alcohol, at the moment, is collecting empty beer and wine bottles from his customers - and returning them to The Beer Store for a small profit.

"For now, that's all I've got."

Back at Beau's All-Natural, co-owner Steve Beauchesne said the province introduced "beneficial laws" about two years ago to allow breweries and wineries to offer beer service on site, and the move has more than doubled his visitors.

"That's been a great help in bringing people to town," he said, noting visitor numbers have increased from 300 per week, in the summer season, to between 600 and 700.

Beauchesne said he'd like to see the province's proposal go one step further, allowing independent brewers like Beau's to sell their product at farmers' markets or a small retail outlet.

"I'd like my brewery to be able to open other retail locations for beer," he stated. "The way I look at it, if Molson and Labatt can operate The Beer Store, I can't understand why my brewery isn't allowed to open another retail store... it's utterly ridiculous. It would only provide more responsible access for breweries."

Asked for comment on allowing the sale of his beer at convenience stores, he said it would offer "much more full access for customers" but, like Lalande, he is not optimistic.

"I don't see that as being something we'll be lucky enough to see in our lifetime," Beauchesne said. "But to me, if you're going to allow a system where two breweries can open a chain, but small breweries are not allowed to, there's no logic to that.

"To me, customers deserve access to what they want to buy, and as a business owner, I deserve better access to my customers."