As a way to reinforce social-distancing guidelines and support the restaurant industry, the B.C. Government is temporarily allowing restaurants to deliver liquor products—and is encouraging businesses to use unemployed servers to do so.
"In these extraordinary times, more British Columbians are relying on delivery services during the COVID-19 pandemic," said B.C. Attorney General David Eby in a release. "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."
Previously, licensed establishment were only permitted to sell liquor for consumption on their premises, unless a special endorsement licence was in place. Now, restaurants will be temporarily permitted to sell packaged liquor products for pick-up or delivery alongside the purchase of a meal.
Delivery drivers will be required to have their Serving It Right certification, which the province is hopeful “will help encourage businesses to use currently laid-off serving staff to make these deliveries,” the release stated.
Existing safeguards for safe consumption remain in place, such as verifying identification.
This recommendation was made by B.C.’s Business Technical Advisory Panel, which is made up of representatives from the liquor and hospitality industries, as a way to help struggling hospitality workers and businesses during the COVID-10 crisis.
The changes take effect immediately and expire on July 15, 2020. That timeline can be amended by the province through a regulatory change.
"These changes not only help restaurant operators through a very tough time, but also could support the many British Columbians working in our breweries, wineries and distilleries," said Lana Popham, Minister of Agriculture, in the release. "Supporting local businesses and choosing to Buy BC makes a real difference in our communities, especially at a time like this."
Restaurants Canada estimates that between 70,000 and 100,000 jobs in B.C.’s restaurant and food-service industry will be lost in the next three months. It is also expecting that establishments across the province will lose $2.9 billion over the same period.
On Friday, Victoria banned restaurants in B.C. from offering dine-in service, restricting them to takeout and delivery only.
