GN urged to make specialized training mandatory for bar staff

Facing a seemingly bottomless keg of liquor violations, the Nunavut Liquor Licencing Board is calling for the territorial government to make it mandatory for bar owners to train their workers to know when it's time a patron is cut off.

Chair David Wilman said most of the charges the board deals with involve allegations an establishment served someone who was drunk or underage.

"Rarely a week goes by that there are no charges like that," he said.

Wilman said the board recommends all liquor licence applicants train their staff to know when a customer has had enough, and has required such training in some cases where bars have violated booze rules.

Programs such as Smart Serve teach bar staff how alcohol works in the body, common signs of intoxication, legal rights and responsibilities and ways to intervene when a patron has had too much to drink. According to Smart Serve's website, the program costs about $45 per person.

Donna Waters, who, along with her sister Kim, is opening a bar and restaurant at the new Nova Inn in Iqaluit, will require Smart Serve training for her staff.

"It's the best program out there," Waters said.

And while she won't say whether she feels such training ought to be made mandatory, Waters said she feels Smart Serve training will make her life as a bar owner easier. At a public hearing of the liquor board last month where the licence for the new bar and restaurant were at stake, several speakers expressed concern over residents drinking to excess.

"As a licence holder, we have absolutely no interest in serving people to the point where they're inebriated. None whatsoever," she said. "Personally I don't want my staff doing it, and I don't want to be the cause of any unfortunate things that could happen."

The government is preparing to review the liquor licence during the fall sitting of the Legislative Assembly that begins Oct. 23.

Much of Nunavut's liquor act is based on federal legislation that dates back to 1905. It was inherited by the Northwest Territories and passed on to Nunavut at division. It's been amended many times, but Wilman said it's time for an overhaul.

"It's gotten to be so archaic, convoluted and complex that everyone acknowledges that a major revision is needed," he said. The board has recommended that it and the finance department, which oversees liquor enforcement, hold public consultations on a new act, Wilman added.

Wilman also said the board would like to see the licence renewal process streamlined, so that seasonal operators who get short-term licences, and owners with good records, can get their licences renewed more quickly.

Peter Ma, deputy minister of finance, didn't return phone calls seeking comment.