On Monday the operators of the Goldstream Station Market pleaded their case once again for the City of Langford to consider allowing vendors of wine, beer and spirits to offer small samples to market patrons.
Provincial liquor laws, changed last year, loosened up to allow for such marketing strategies, although strict guidelines remain in place to prevent overconsumption. Rules limit the size of samples to a half ounce, and patrons may not drink those samples away from the front of the vendorB次元官网网址檚 booth. It seems the B.C. Liquor Control and Licensing Branch has thought this through and considered all the potential negative outcomes, such as drinking and driving, before changing the rules.
The Luxton Station Market Society was turned down again, despite giving compelling reasons as to why such a change could work to broaden the marketB次元官网网址檚 offerings and provide a better service to people in the community.
An argument was made that the park was designed for families and veterans, and that current bylaws state that drinking in public parks is not allowed. Both are correct.
But people donB次元官网网址檛 attend markets to get a buzz on, they go to experience, among other things, the best in locally grown and produced products. These are very small samples that wouldnB次元官网网址檛 budge the needle on the breathalyzer.
Many markets around the region are not held in parks and may not be subject to drinking in parks bylaws. But if there are bad experiences to draw on from those that do take place in parks and allow sampling to be done, we havenB次元官网网址檛 heard about them.
Council was not being asked to change the rule Monday, they were only requested to allow city staff to do more research on the matter and come back with a recommendation one way or the other. With only four councillors in attendance B次元官网网址揕illian Szpak sat as acting mayor B次元官网网址� one option might have been to table the request until a full contingent of councillors was on hand.
This market has been a tremendous success and a boon to Langford, and we hope this latest setback doesnB次元官网网址檛 spell the end of their asking for something the province says is OK.
