Letter from the President
Finally, the single permit?
The Government of Quebec’s 2015 budget seems to confirm the future adoption of the single permit, which the CPBBTQ has requested for years. The budget, in fact, sets out the future elimination of pub and tavern permits. If necessary, only bar permits could accompany show and dance permits and an operator’s license for video lottery terminals.
There will be a parliamentary committee this fall to define the precise regulatory climate for the single permit, but it seems that all laws applicable to our industry will be amended by the end of 2015, allowing the issue of a single permit per establishment, relieving us of the obligation to have as many functional bars as permits per business.
CPBBTQ is even more pleased that the Act respecting Offences Relating to Alcoholic Beverages will also be modified and the guidelines of the Régie des Alcools, races and games (RACJ) will no longer sanction liquor licence holders for any practices related to the number of bars.
If all these changes occur, it will make managing these businesses much easier and all bar permit holders will see substantial savings on staff management and the grouping of equipment and interior amenities, eliminating useless partitions, sinks and bars. Owners will themselves determine the number of employees they need based on their traffic.
These new provisions will also have the effect of eliminating ghosts bars and removing the requirement to install sales recording modules (SRMs, which will be mandatory as of February 2016) at these unused service counters. They will also lead to better relationships with the police, reducing the number of offences for staff shortages in a room, drink or beer shortages in fridges, the failure to post permits and price lists and so on.
In short, there are only advantages to this decision — if Quebec has indeed understood what we’ve been saying all along.
Of course, we assure you that the Corporation of Bar, Pub and Tavern Owners of Quebec will represent your best interests before the parliamentary committee to held in the fall on this matter. We have high hopes that the legislators have heard us, they will retain most of the many opinions we have submitted to them about this matter and everything will work out this time.
Jean-Jacques Beauchamp, président Chairman of the Board, Corporation of Bar, Pub and Tavern Owners of Quebec
