The serving rules that bind you

By the end of this lesson you can state the two rules that decide whether a guest gets another drink, and spot a promotion that breaks the law.

Two instruments carry these rules. The Liquor Licence and Control Act, 2019 (the Act) is the statute. O. Reg. 746/21 (the licensing regulation) sets the conditions on every licence. Both have a section 31, so this lesson always names the instrument.

Never serve a guest who appears intoxicated

Section 32 of the Act: no person shall sell or supply liquor, or permit liquor to be sold or supplied, to any person who is or appears to be intoxicated.

Read it in three pieces. "No person" means you, not only your employer. "Is or appears to be" means you never need proof. "Permit liquor to be sold or supplied" catches the handoff.

A guest orders two beers and carries one to a friend who is slurring and unsteady. Selling to the sober guest still breaks section 32 of the Act: you permitted liquor to be supplied to the intoxicated friend. Sell one beer and say the friend is done for the night.

Do not let intoxication sit on your floor

Section 31 of the Act: no person shall be in an intoxicated condition in a place to which the general public is invited or permitted access. The guest breaks that law in your room, whether or not you poured the drinks.

Section 43 (1) of the licensing regulation puts the matching duty on the business: the licensee shall not permit intoxication, unlawful gambling or disorderly conduct on the licensed premises or in adjacent areas under the licensee's exclusive control.

Two guests arrive already intoxicated and order nachos and water. You sell them no liquor, so section 32 of the Act never comes up. The two rules above still apply. Intoxication in the room is the problem, not the tab.

Nothing that pushes guests to drink more

Section 24 of the licensing regulation: the licensee shall not engage in or permit practices that may tend to encourage patrons' immoderate consumption of liquor. The Registrar's Interim Standards and Requirements for Liquor (the Registrar's standards) name what that catches:

• Contests that involve the purchase or consumption of liquor (standard 5.6), including drinking games. The pricing directives also name challenges that encourage consumption.
• Free liquor as a prize in a contest (standard 5.6).
• A minimum number of drinks to enter or stay on the premises (standard 5.3).
• A drink price that depends on buying another drink. The directives prohibit "2 for 1 drinks" and "every 3rd drink is $2".
• Promotions aimed at one group, such as students or women. Prices must be the same for all guests.
• Over-service of guests.

Price flexibility is legal while the price stays above the minimum and the same for everyone. A lower price on wine sold with a certain meal is fine. Post any temporary price change.

One price for unlimited drinks is not on the Registrar's list. The directives allow liquor bundled into a travel package, and a food and liquor package at a private event closed to the public.

Every drink has a floor price

Section 26 of the licensing regulation sets a minimum price for a serving of liquor, taxes included:

• Spirits over 14.8 per cent alcohol by volume: $1.34
• Every other case: $2.00

Those figures attach to a standard serving: 341 ml of beer, cider or cooler, 29 ml of spirits, 142 ml of wine, or 85 ml of fortified wine. Serve a different size and the minimum price moves in direct proportion to the volume. A 58 ml pour of vodka is two standard servings, so its floor is $2.68.

The Registrar lists this floor first among its directives on immoderate consumption. It limits how cheap a drink can get.

The hours you may serve

Section 31 of the licensing regulation sets the window for a liquor consumption premises. Liquor may be sold and served only between 9 a.m. on any day and 2 a.m. the following day. December 31 gets one extra hour: 9 a.m. on December 31 to 3 a.m. on January 1.

Last call therefore lands before 2 a.m., not at it. Section 37 of the licensing regulation then allows 45 minutes after service ends to clear the evidence of liquor served and consumed, so glasses come off the tables by 2:45 a.m. Delivery runs on its own clock: 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. (section 10 of the licensing regulation).

Advertising and inducements

Section 29 of the Act: no person shall advertise liquor except in accordance with the regulations or the standards the Registrar establishes, and the Registrar can order an offending ad stopped. Those standards bar an ad that promotes excessive consumption, appeals to people under the legal drinking age, or links liquor with driving.

Section 30 of the Act works on the supply side. No manufacturer, and no employee, agent or licensed representative of a manufacturer, shall give liquor to any person, except as prescribed or under the Registrar's standards. Section 22 of the licensing regulation matches it: the licensee shall not receive a material benefit from a manufacturer.

The trap to expect on the test

Both instruments have a section 31. Section 31 of the Act covers intoxication where the public is allowed. Section 31 of the licensing regulation covers hours of sale and service. Read which instrument the question names.

The second trap is the word "appears". A question that says the guest "was never tested" offers evidence section 32 of the Act never asks for.

Recap

• Section 32 of the Act: never sell or supply liquor, and never permit it to be supplied, to a person who is or appears to be intoxicated.
• Section 31 of the Act makes intoxication an offence where the public is allowed. Section 43 (1) of the licensing regulation bars the licensee from permitting it.
• Section 24 of the licensing regulation bans practices that may tend to encourage immoderate consumption: drinking contests, minimum-purchase entry, prices tied to buying another drink.
• Section 26 of the licensing regulation sets minimum prices, taxes included: $1.34 for spirits over 14.8 per cent alcohol by volume, $2.00 otherwise.
• Section 31 of the licensing regulation allows sale and service from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. Delivery stops at 11 p.m.
• Sections 29 and 30 of the Act control liquor advertising and gifts of liquor by manufacturers.