Offences and what they cost

By the end of this lesson you can say who gets charged when a liquor rule is broken, and what a conviction costs. The figures come from the Liquor Licence and Control Act, 2019.

How a rule becomes a charge

Section 67 of the Act connects the conduct rules to the courts. A person is guilty of an offence if the person contravenes any provision of the Act or the regulations. Every rule you learned earlier in this module sits behind that clause. Section 67 (1) also covers knowingly giving false information under the Act.

Section 67 (2) reaches the people who run the company. A director or officer of a corporation who caused, authorized, permitted or participated in an offence by the corporation is guilty of an offence.

What a conviction costs

Section 68 sets the general penalties. They cover every offence except a contravention of subsection 33 (1), (2) or (4), the underage rule, which has its own scale.

• A corporation is liable to a fine of not more than $250,000.
• An individual is liable to a fine of not more than $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than one year, or both.

Those are ceilings for one conviction. Section 68 sets no minimum, so the court picks the amount.

Two convictions carry no jail risk for an individual, under subsection 68 (2): subsection 31 (1), being intoxicated in a place the public may enter, and subsection 41 (1), having liquor where the Act does not allow it.

Section 70 covers illegal stock. On a conviction for unlawful possession under section 39, liquor seized under warrant is forfeited to the Crown, plus a court penalty of not more than $100 for each litre forfeited.

Selling to someone under 19 costs more

Section 69 applies to convictions under subsection 33 (1), (2) or (4): selling or supplying liquor to a person under 19 or who appears to be under 19, and permitting an underage person to have or consume liquor on licensed premises. A licensee holds the liquor licence for the premises.

• A corporation that is not a licensee: not less than $200 and not more than $500,000.
• An individual that is not a licensee: not less than $200 and not more than $200,000, or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.
• A corporation that is a licensee: not less than $1,000 and not more than $500,000.
• An individual that is a licensee: not less than $1,000 and not more than $200,000, or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.

Put the two scales side by side. For an individual the ceiling doubles, from $100,000 to $200,000. A floor appears where section 68 has none: $200 if you are not a licensee, $1,000 if you are.

The licence takes a hit as well. On a conviction under subsection 33 (1), a licensee also has the licence suspended for not less than seven days. Seven days of closed taps, on top of the fine.

Subsection 33 (5) is your protection. Rely on prescribed documentation, with no apparent reason to doubt it or the person holding it, and you have not contravened the "appears to be under 19" branch. It does not cover a knowing sale to a person under 19.

The rules that name you

Read the opening words to see who can be charged.

• Section 32: no person shall sell or supply liquor, or permit it to be sold or supplied, to a person who is or appears to be intoxicated. A person, which includes you.
• Subsection 33 (1): no person shall knowingly sell or supply liquor to a person under 19, or sell to one who appears to be under 19. A person again.
• Subsection 33 (2): no licensee or employee or agent of a licensee shall permit an underage person to have or consume liquor on the licensed premises. You are the employee.
• Section 66: no person shall obstruct an inspector or give an inspector false information.

Some duties belong to the licensee alone. Subsection 44 (1) makes the licensee or permit holder ensure that a person does not remain on the premises when the licensee reasonably believes the person is there unlawfully or is breaking the law. Subsection 44 (2) lets an employee do the removing, but the duty sits with the licensee.

What compliance looks like on the floor

Part V puts inspectors to work. The Registrar, the AGCO official who runs liquor licensing, designates them. At any reasonable time an inspector may enter the licensee's premises, other than a dwelling, examine records, take photographs, and seize anything the inspector reasonably believes is not in compliance. Subsection 55 (8) makes co-operation a licence term: every licensee must facilitate inspections.

Two of those powers reach you. An inspector can direct you to ask a guest who may be under 19 for the prescribed document. The Registrar may also appoint a person of a prescribed age under 19 to test compliance.

The trap to expect on the test

The test likes to swap the two penalty scales. Any offence under the Act puts an individual at up to $100,000. Underage sale or supply moves that to $200 to $200,000, or $1,000 to $200,000 for a licensee. The seven-day suspension attaches only to a licensee convicted under subsection 33 (1).

Two shields

The conduct rules in this module are the first shield. Serve nobody who is or appears intoxicated, check the document before you pour, and the offence never starts. Refusal is the second shield, and the refusal module gives you the words for it.

A refused drink costs you a tip. A poured one can cost $200,000.

Recap

• Section 67 makes any contravention of the Act or the regulations an offence. A director or officer who took part in a corporation's offence is guilty too.
• General penalties under section 68: a corporation up to $250,000, an individual up to $100,000 or up to one year in jail, or both.
• Under section 69 an individual pays $200 to $200,000 for underage sale or supply, or $1,000 to $200,000 as a licensee, with jail up to one year still available.
• A licensee convicted under subsection 33 (1) also loses the licence for not less than seven days.
• Sections 32 and 33 say "no person", so a server can be charged personally. Subsection 44 (1) says "licensee", so that duty is the employer's.