Proposed changes to Liquor Control Act include fines for disorderly conduct

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This article was published 20/05/2011 (5447 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The province introduced a bevy of amendments it would like to make to the Liquor Control Act on Thursday, including a number intended to crack down on underage drinking and fostering greater public safety and well-being.

Among them:

* hiring three new downtown Winnipeg liquor inspectors, adding to Canada’s best inspector-to-licensed-premises ratio, and establishing a new satellite inspections office to be located on Main Street by 2012;

* introducing fines, among the toughest in Canada, for disorderly conduct;

* placing more responsibility on bar owners for disorder outside of their premises and property including the immediate vicinity;

* enabling liquor inspectors and police to immediately close a licensed premise for up to 12 hours when there is imminent risk to the public;

* setting out in law existing mandatory responsible service training for bar owners, operators, bartenders and servers;

* giving the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission (MLCC) the legal mandate to promote responsible alcohol consumption;

* strengthening a fetal alcohol spectrum disorders public awareness campaign;

* requiring the MLCC to conduct an impact analysis on the use of energy drinks as a mix with alcohol;

* enabling Liquor Marts to sell socially responsible products such as 0.5 per cent alcohol and taxi-fare cards and installing portable defibrillators and providing staff training in all 50 liquor marts by early summer;

* instituting a false identification (ID) crackdown where young adults will be required to produce a driver’s licence or identity card from Manitoba Public Insurance or alternatively two additional pieces of ID, of one which one must be photo ID, by 2012;

* the MLCC will work with licensees to implement technologies to identify false ID such as verification scanners;

* providing ID to a minor would become an offence under the Liquor Control Act, as would prohibiting possession of alcohol by a minor, not just consumption, in a licensed premise and at occasional permit events;

* automatically having every act violation involving underage drinking in a licensed premise would result in a licensing board hearing;

* registering all beer kegs to easily identify the purchaser in situations involving minors;

* having the MLCC phase in a strategy to deal with excessively high alcohol content beverages;

* enhancing awareness of Be the Influence — Manitoba’s leading-edge campaign for parent engagement and responsibility;

* providing a new school-based awareness and initiatives program through Manitoba Healthy Living, Youth and Seniors; and

* facilitating discussion between MADD Canada and school boards to promote dry grad initiatives.

» Brandon Sun