Victoria – In order to reinforce social distancing orders and help support workers in the restaurant industry, The BC Government is making changes to temporarily allow restaurants to deliver liquor products alongside the purchase of a meal.
“In these extraordinary times, more British Columbians are relying on delivery services during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said David Eby, Attorney General. “Permitting licensed restaurants to hire their out of work servers to deliver liquor products as part of their food-delivery service allows the public to continue to observe social distancing measures and also offers much-needed support to these workers and businesses.”
These changes will be made available to customers who purchase a meal and the sealed, packaged liquor product for pick up from the restaurant’s premises or for delivery at home. Previously, these licensees were only permitted to sell liquor for consumption in their establishment, unless they had a special endorsement on their licence.
Existing safeguards for safe consumption continue to be in place, such as verifying identification. The individuals delivering the liquor products will also be required to be certified with Serving It Right, which government hopes will help encourage businesses to use currently laid-off serving staff to make these deliveries. Staff in licensed establishments are already required to hold this certification.
FYI
Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch’s policy directive: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/employment-business-and-economic-development/business-management/liquor-regulation-licensing/policy-directives/20-05_sale_and_delivery_of_packaged_liquor_from_service_area_for_off-site_consumption.pdf
