None of Prince George's grocery stores will immediately be able to sell booze under new rules the provincial government unveiled earlier this month because they all have a liquor store nearby.
Justice Minister Susan Anton outlined a "store-within-a-store model" on March 5 that would allow hard alcohol and beer to be sold inside a grocery store through a separate access point and check out.
But one of the first hurdles a grocery store must clear is to be at least one kilometre away from an existing liquor store, regardless of whether it's government or privately-run, and none of the major grocery stores in Prince George currently meet that standard.
B.C. Private Liquor Store Association spokesman Stephen Harris is happy with the rule.
"It's a good thing in the sense that it provides some value to the liquor store licensees," Harris said.
Harris said it will mean the grocery store will have to either allow the neighbouring liquor store owner to move into the supermarket or buy the owner's licence.
The one-kilometre rule will also start to apply to B.C. Liquor Stores, Harris noted. That will likely put an end to the controversial plan to open one up in Spruceland Mall, close to the privately-owned 10th Avenue Liquor Store, which had previously been a government outlet.
Since 2010, new private liquor stores have been prohibited from opening within a kilometre of an existing one, although ones that breach that limit but were established before that rule came into effect can continue to operate.
Even if a grocery store is outside the one kilometre area, it must still get a licence, and the government will also cap the number of private liquor licences at 670 province-wide, so a licence can be obtained only from an existing operator.
Easing things somewhat, the government will repeal a regulation that a licence can be transferred only within city limits or five kilometres if outside that boundary, meaning they can be moved from another community.
Victoria is also working on rules for issuing a limited number of licences to sell B.C.-made Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) certified wine off the shelf without a separate checkout. Eligibility criteria is still being developed but stand-alone stores outside a grocery store are a possibility, the government said.
Harris said the one-kilometre rule should also apply to VQA-only sellers.
"If we want to have a bit of separation between liquor retailers, then we should have a bit of separation between liquor retailers and it should apply across the board," Harris said.
There are no plans to apply the one-kilometre rule to farmers' markets, which Harris said is "probably not a huge concern at the moment" given they usually just operate on weekends.
Convenience stores will remain outside the definition of grocery store for the purposes of amendments introduced this month to the province's Liquor Control and Licencing Act but whether big box and warehouse stores will also be excluded is not yet clear.
The goal is to implement the "store-within-a-store" model by early next year.
The government is also developing a price-based model for wine and spirits distributed by the Liquor Distribution Branch that will be consistent for all retailers, including B.C. Liquor Stores.
It will replace the current model, which has five different discount rates for various retailers and differential mark-ups across 22 product categories, a move Harris applauded.
"Everyone who retails liquor should be living and playing by the same rules," Harris said.
The wholesale pricing model will not apply to restaurants, bars and pubs and there will continue to be a no-mark-up policy for 100 per cent B.C. wines.
