Manitoba eyes wine bars, beverage rooms without hotel requirement and more
Manitobans may soon have more places to raise a glass if a bill before the legislature becomes law.
The bill is aimed at simplifying the province's licensing system, with its many categories that require a full kitchen for some operators, entertainment for others and on-site hotel rooms for many.
One proposed change would eliminate the need for beverage rooms -- a type of licence that does not require a full kitchen -- to have hotel rooms on the premises. The current rules require a minimum of four rooms in small communities and 40 in Winnipeg and Brandon.
Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen said he wasn't sure why that requirement was put in place almost a century ago after the end of Prohibition.
"There wasn't a lot of close connection between the serving of alcohol ... and a hotel situation," Goertzen said Tuesday.
"I don't think that the expectation was that ... people needed a place to sleep at night."
The idea was not well received by many hotel owners consulted by the government. They told the provincial regulator -- the Liquor, Cannabis and Gaming Authority of Manitoba -- that they had invested a lot of money to meet the hotel-room requirement, the authority said in a written report on its consultations.
The bill would also let the provincial cabinet set up new categories of licences. That could pave the way for wine bars inside wine stores, Goertzen said. It would also make it easier for temporary summer outdoor bars, called 'pop-ups', to get a licence.
The changes, for the most part, were welcomed by the Manitoba Restaurant and Food Services Association.
The group said competition from new entrants with less overhead could cause some problems, but the overall move to reduce red tape and make it easier to get a licence for modern alcohol distribution is a big plus.
"The problem is, is that these (current) licences really focus on business what it looked like 20, 30 years ago," said Shaun Jeffrey, the association's executive director.
Many restaurants could take advantage of the new flexible system to open temporary outdoor bars in the summer, Jeffrey said.
It's not clear when the bill put forward by the Progressive Conservative government could become law. The legislature is scheduled to break for the summer next week.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 24, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.