Alberta restaurants earn B+ for alcohol selection, price

Alberta is home to the country’s most bar- and restaurant- friendly alcohol policies, according to Restaurants Canada.

Its Raise the Bar report assessing provincial liquor policies and regulations gives Alberta a B+ for its selection of beer, wine and spirits at the lowest average price.

“The 2015 policy decisions to increase liquor taxes by a combined 15 per cent and eliminate the liquor server wage differential in 2016 prevented Alberta from scoring even better — and could result in a lower mark next year,” the group said. “In addition, the province needs to modernize several outdated laws, including one that prevents bartenders from infusing spirits.”

The recent provincial budget brought several changes for the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission, including the move to a graduated markup tax structure for brewers based on overall production and a five- per- cent liquor tax increase on top of the 10- percent increase introduced by the former Tory government last spring.

Mark von Schellwitz, vice- president of Western Canada for Restaurants Canada, said Alberta for two decades has had a liquor system that treats restaurants as full wholesale customers.

“We can bring in any product that we want so our product selection is great and we can purchase not just from the liquor monopoly but we can also purchase from private retailers, which is very convenient especially for some of our smaller members who can’t afford the big 25 case minimums and to have that kind of inventory,” he said.

The chief concern of the organization’s Alberta members is the government’s decision to eliminate the liquor server differential, said von Schellwitz.

The NDP government raised the province’s minimum wage $ 1 to $ 11.20 on Oct. 1. Also, the liquor server minimum wage jumped to $ 10.70 an hour, from $ 9.20, in the first of two steps to eliminate the rate differential altogether in 2016.

“This does not help us deliver value to our customers when we’re dealing with these increases and when our costs go up on the labour side that also reflects the price that we can offer our liquor products to our customers,” he said.