Editorial — Stop making beer and wine sales at farmers’ market so complicated

TUESDAY MORNING EDITORIAL — There’s such a thing as too much consultation after all.

The attempt to get approval from City Hall for the sale and sampling of craft beer and wine at the Farmers’ Market is a perfect example of bureaucracy conflicting with bureaucracy.

A request from the Kamloops Regional Farmers’ Market Society will be in front of Kamloops City council today asking the City to allow the market to allow the sale of craft wines, beers and ciders. The current permit from the City doesn’t allow it.

“For Kamloops this is an opportunity to showcase local food and drink, which can help in the promotion of tourism of the area and helping people to experience the beauty and flavours of the Kamloops region,” writes society co-chair Shawn Haley in asking for permission.

She points out that, since the provincial government changed B.C. liquor laws in June to allow such sales, farmers’ markets in several B.C. municipalities have already started selling it.

But instead of expediting the matter in the spirit of the provincial liquor-law reform, City bureaucrats want to complicate it. “In this case, DES staff suggest a referral/ public input process is an appropriate first step to consider allowing liquor sales/ sampling from an unzoned City road right-of-way,” says a staff report in response to the application.

“This affords the City an opportunity to address questions such as liability, number of liquor vendors, and location relative to other uses. Additionally, it also allows for the public to comment on the sales/ sampling of liquor on a public road.”

Etcetera, etcetera. Refer to RCMP. Etcetera. Risk management. Etcetera. Business associations. Public input, etcetra. Another report. Etcetera.

Good grief. The public was consulted for months by the provincial government on what it wanted to see happen with liquor laws. One of the things the public said is that it would like to see beer and wine products sold at farmers’ markets.

Council should amend the permit and let the farmers’ market, craft beer producers and local wineries get on with it.