BC’s regulatory body, the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch, is proposing changes to the ID requirements for liquor and cannabis retailers.
Requiring One Piece of ID
In 2002, BC increased the requirement from one to two pieces of prescribed ID that a customer must show to purchase alcohol. This was done to mitigate problems related to an increased use of counterfeit IDs by minors.
Now the province is proposing a change to require one piece, rather than two of prescribed ID to purchase liquor or cannabis. This is consistent with the requirement in all other provinces and territories. Regardless of the number of pieces of ID prescribed, licensees and their employees are still required to confirm an individual’s age.
Deterring Sales to Minors
LCRB says there are a number of other strategies now in place to protect minors and deter liquor and cannabis licensees from selling to anyone they suspect to be under-age. These include the Minors as Agents Program, enhanced security features for government-issued IDs, and enhanced training materials for the safe serving training programs required of licensees and their staff.
Comments on the proposed amendment will be accepted until September 15, 2023. To submit your feedback, please contact LCRB.Outreach@gov.bc.ca.
LCRB Understaffed to Regulate Stores
In July, The Tyee uncovered an auditor’s report from 2022 that says BC’s Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch is understaffed and lacks key tools to ensure licensed cannabis retail stores follow the law.
The report found that historical staffing challenges and a fixed inspection approach have resulted in unsustainable workloads for many staff. Inspection targets are not consistently being met.
As well, at the time of writing, the Minors as Agents Program was paused during COVID-19 and has yet to be launched for cannabis. The auditor says that the program should now be in place as it is critical to monitoring compliance over a key public safety risk.