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Cheers to that – common sense changes coming to BC liquor laws

By Brooke, BC b-sides They say all you have to do is ask, and you shall receive.

By Brooke, BC b-sides

They say all you have to do is ask, and you shall receive. When it came to feedback on BC’s liquor law consultation, receive BC Gov did! There have been 4,364 blog comments, 41,195 votes cast, 2,842 direct emails, 65 face-to-face meetings and 188 letters from stakeholders and licensees.

The consultation centred around modernizing BC’s liquor policies, and will take a close look at the sale of beer and wine in grocery stores in BC. The website launched on September 14, 2013 and was open for input until October 31, 2013.

The face behind the consultation was John Yap, Parliamentary Secretary for Liquor Reform. “We wanted to make it as easy as possible for everyone who had an opinion on liquor reform to share it,” Yap says. “And we also wanted to make sure we gave people the background about liquor laws and policy in BC, so they’d be informed when they did.”

John-Yap-Liquor-consultation

BC Gov is listening (and facebooking)

As people’s expectations around government and new media change, BC Gov has been keeping pace. Yap has been blogging, vlogging and tweeting to help draw people into the consultation. “I think using social media is old fashioned democracy at work,” Yap says. “Plus it leads to some healthy debate, and that’s important when you have big decisions on the table.”

He’s not the only one getting social! Most BC Gov officials use social media to get the word out and connect with stakeholders online when they can’t in person; sharing photos, news and more on their twitter and Facebook feeds.

Stay tuned

“There were a huge variety of opinions expressed in the consultation comments,” notes Yap. “I had a lot of fun responding and interacting with everyone. It definitely gave me a better picture of all the different ideas British Columbians had to improve our liquor policies” While the comments are now closed, the site will stay active so British Columbians can continue to stay informed.

Over the next month, Yap’s team will be combing through the data and compiling all the recommendations to put together a report that reflects all the feedback received. Yap says, “Now it’s my job to sit down to do the hard work to pull it all together into a report that will improve our laws and grow the economy, while keeping health and safety concerns in mind.”

The finished report will be handed over to Attorney General and Minister of Justice Suzanne Anton by the end of November. From there, Anton will review the report and propose reforms to BC’s Cabinet.

Want more info?

- Read John Yap’s blog and public comments on liquor reform HERE.

- Get the facts on liquor in BC, at Liquor 101 HERE.

- Follow John Yap on Twitter at @John_Yap

- Stay up to date on news about liquor reform HERE

Click to view a historical timeline of BC’s liquor laws

BC b-sides is the BC Gov blog where we take off our bureaucrat hats and connect person to person about BC stories that matter. http://www.bcbsides.ca/