Open letter to BC government on last minute NYE liquor service restrictions

British Columbia Public Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry’s Emergency Order, issued this afternoon (December 30) after 3:00 pm, requires all sellers of liquor in the province to cease selling tomorrow - New Year’s Eve - at 8:00 pm. Why exactly was this not communicated a week+ ago, given projections for COVID-19 cases through the holidays?

This is terrible public policy. Needless to say, this last-minute Order is crippling and completely unfair to the many restaurant and hospitality operators who have faithfully followed every Order to date, and are endeavouring to give their patrons a SAFE and enjoyable way to send off an awful 2020.  After a punishing year, how on earth are they supposed to deal with the inevitable cancellations of their second seating, AFTER they’ve ordered enough food for all those people? (And may need these receipts to pay their food costs after it’s all over.) And what do the authorities really think people will do in terms of liquor purchasing and consumption after 8:00 tomorrow night when they can’t sit in a responsibly-operated restaurant or other hospitality outlet?

Restaurant industry leadership specifically asked the BC government WITHIN THE LAST TWO WEEKS if the industry should expect any further measures over the Christmas holidays, and received assurance that no new more restrictive measures were anticipated.

I call out the government for this last-minute decision.  Dr. Henry, her colleagues and the Ministry of Health knew or ought-to-have-known what constraints they wanted to put on the public’s behaviour through the holiday period. This last-minute Order is borderline reckless public policy. To be credible and trusted, policymakers – and she is – must follow the golden rule: no surprises (where possible), and above all, treat your stakeholders with respect, particularly if you wish to retain their goodwill and partnership in efforts to limit further spread of the coronavirus.

This particular surprise, with 24 hours to go until New Years Eve dining begins, does serious harm to the credibility and trust that remained on the part of hospitality operators. Last-minute policy surprises have consequences: operators may lose respect for her office, and future compliance may well go down as a result. No one gains. 

While most of us greatly respect Dr. Henry’s laser focus on public health, I respectfully point out that we are ten months into this pandemic, and by now her office knows precisely the impact her orders have on businesses in the public-facing sectors.  As do the Minister of Health and the Premier.

I submit that this latest action is not respectful enough on the part Dr. Henry, Health Minister Dix, and Premier Horgan to the hospitality industry. Nor is it respectful enough to the public, who up to this point had been treated like the adults most of us are, and most of whom are conducting ourselves as responsibly as possible to get safely to a manageable phase of the pandemic.

Businesses deserve better. British Columbians deserve better.

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