HALIFAX — Food and drink establishments in Halifax would be closing earlier if the city’s new chief of regional police gets his wish.
“Our data shows a direct correlation between access to alcohol after 2 a.m. and an increase in assaults in the area around those establishments,” said Police Chief Jean-Michel Blais, in response to violence that has plagued the city’s bar district.“This data is corroborated by international research illustrating that limiting bar hours decreases alcohol-related harms.”
Blais’s proposed change would reportedly affect four licensed establishments in Halifax’s downtown core, obliging them to stop serving alcohol at 2 a.m. “Halifax Regional Police is proposing one standard closing time for all licensed establishments in our community instead of a tiered approach, which allows those establishments having ‘Cabaret Licences’ [to serve alcohol until] 3:30 a.m.,” said Blais.
At least one bar owner doesn’t agree with the police chief’s idea. “It’s not going to be good for downtown, and it’s certainly not going to be good for the businesses that survive by staying open later,” Peter Martell, GM of The Palace Nightclub on Brunswick Street, told CBC News. Martell’s club is one of eight locations in Nova Scotia that has a cabaret licence.
Opening hours for Halifax bars are governed by the Liquor Control Act.
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