Cambridge Bay Elks’ Lodge pleads guilty to three of four liquor violations

The Ikaluktutiak Elks Lodge 593 in Cambridge Bay has pleaded guilty to three out of four violations it faces under Nunavut’s Liquor Act.

The Nunavut Liquor Act regulates all activities relating to the sale and consumption of alcohol in Nunavut.

At a public preliminary hearing before the Nunavut Liquor and Cannabis Board in Iqaluit on Thursday, Jan. 16, Iqaluit-based lawyer Anne Crawford represented the Elks. William Lu, a lawyer with Nunavut’s Department of Justice, represented the Government of Nunavut.

During an inspection at the Elks on Oct. 18 and Oct. 19, 2019, the inspector entered the premises, but, according to the allegations, was refused access to the liquor door leading to where permitted bottles are stored.

The first violation the Elks faces under the Liquor Act is using a liquor dispenser that does not conform to standards. Crawford said the bar was using a commercial dispensing system and had made an application to the board to have the system approved.

The second violation states the bar’s inventory list was not available to the inspector. Crawford said the list was locked away in a place where the bartender was unable to access it.

The third violation involves failing to allow the inspector to enter the storage room or the resupply room where permitted bottles were locked up. Crawford said the staff present that day did not have the keys to unlock the room and other staff who did have keys were not present.

The Elks pleaded guilty to all three of those violations.

But the Elks pleaded not guilty to the fourth violation of impeding a liquor inspector, an infraction that could carry a heavy fine.

Crawford argued that the fourth violation was contained in the other three violations.

In her argument against the fourth violation, Crawford cited the Supreme Court of Canada’s Kienapple ruling in 1975. That case essentially sets out a rule that an accused cannot be convicted of two offences that arise from the same set of facts.

“You can’t keep using the same set of facts and hitting people with the same set of facts over and over again,” Crawford said.

“We would argue the fourth one can’t proceed because we’ve pled guilty to the third one, which is there was trouble getting through the locked doors so the inspector could get in.”

The two parties have not yet developed a statement of agreed facts, called witnesses or presented evidence. That will occur at the official hearing before the board.

The parties also discussed whether to move the hearing to Cambridge Bay. Crawford said the board, which is based in Iqaluit, should hold a Skype call at the very least.

“It’s better than hearing them through crackling over the phone,” Crawford said.

Lu said the GN was opposed to moving the hearing completely to Cambridge Bay. Both Crawford and Lu agreed the hearing could happen through a Skype call.

Crawford also brought forward a motion to exclude the witness testimony of Iqaluit Mayor Kenny Bell. Bell was Nunavut’s chief liquor inspector from 2006 to 2019.

Bell received an anonymous complaint from a member of the public that there were “issues with the Elks,” Lu said. That led the current chief liquor inspector to conduct the inspection.

“We don’t think Mr. Bell has anything to do with this and he shouldn’t be a witness. He wasn’t present, he wasn’t an inspector at the time. He’s offering his opinions,” Crawford said.

The GN opposed the motion and argued that Bell should be allowed to testify.

“It’s agreed that Mr. Bell is not giving evidence about what physically occurred at the inspection on October 18 and 19, 2019, but rather he will speak to a series of interactions, including his previous inspections and including the receipt of an anonymous complaint from a member of the public,” Lu said.

Lu also acknowledged Crawford’s Kienapple submission, but argued that it did not apply because the facts around the Elks prohibiting access to the inspector are different from the facts surrounding the obstruction charge.

No one from the Elks attended the preliminary hearing and no witnesses were present.

The board will now deliberate on the two motions and present its decisions to all involved parties. The hearing is scheduled to take place in Iqaluit sometime from March 9 to March 11, 2020.