“These changes will positively impact restaurant operators by reducing the time and effort required to get, and make changes, to their liquor licences,” says Luc Erjavec, vice-president of Atlantic Canada for the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association, which has asked all government parties to support the bill. “Operators would rather spend time waiting on customers than waiting for paperwork.”
The new act suggests a number of changes including: transferring liquor licensing responsibilities from the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (NSUARB) to Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations, and appointing an executive director; removing the requirement that a licence applicant be a Canadian resident or citizen; and replacing mandatory formal hearings for the granting of certain types of liquor licences with a public consultation process to be defined by regulation.
If the legislation is passed, it’s expected to be announced later this year.
