Ford Government seeks to expand airport alcohol sales to 24-hours a day

Oct 29 2019, 1:27 pm

Ontario’s legislature went back into session at Queen’s Park on Monday after a nearly five-month summer break. And alongside addressing the removal of personal exemption limits and the permission of dogs on food premises, airport alcohol sales were on the docket.

Currently, according to Better for People, Smarter for Business Act, licensed establishments in Ontario airports are allowed to sell and serve alcohol between 9 am and 2 am.

Proposed changes would allow for licensed bars and restaurants in certain commercial airports to serve alcohol to customers 24 hours a day, permitted they are located after airport security.

This change, the document says, would align Ontario with the current rules surrounding the sale and service of liquor elsewhere in Canada, and around the world.

Also listed in the Act is the consideration of removing interprovincial personal exemption limits on alcoholic beverages. The document states that removing personal exemption limits on the amount of beer, wine and spirits that an individual can bring into Ontario from another province or territory, for personal use, allows alcoholic beverages to move more freely throughout the country.

“The government is committed to working with all provinces and territories to remove unnecessary barriers and promote job creation and economic growth by removing barriers to trade, in a way that works for everyone and doesn’t disadvantage our local Ontario producers and retailers,” the Act reads.

In addition to the alcohol-focused propositions, the document proposes an ease to the restrictions on having dogs in outdoor eating areas, like patios, and in indoor breweries indoors.

The reason behind this suggested change is that, according to the Act, those are places where only “low-risk food” like beverages and shelf-stable or pre-packaged and ready-to-eat foods are served.

Kayla GladyszKayla Gladysz

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