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A pilot liquor licensing project is scheduled to take place in the Vancouver region, with the hopes of having a fully implemented system province wide by early April.
The pilot project will launch on February 2nd and will test a new online application process designed to increase convenience and speed up approvals for small, low-risk events. At the moment, applicants hosting events in Vancouver or Burnaby will be able to skip the paper application and can apply for a Special Occasion License (SOL) on their computer or mobile device.
Participants will no longer have to visit a B.C. liquor Store multiple times or make trips to police stations and municipal halls.
"As we make changes coming out of the Liquor Policy Review, we are focused on reducing red tape and increasing convenience without sacrificing health and public safety. We heard from many individuals and groups concerned that the Special Occasion Licence process was onerous, time-consuming and inconvenient for everyone involved - so we committed to changing it," said Suzanne Anton, Attorney General and Minister of Justice.
Police and liquor inspectors will be able to run searches from their office or mobile devices, meaning that online applications will also enhance public safety by providing officials with information in real-time about events happening in their communities.
The goal is to have any bugs worked out by early April, so that the system can be fully implemented in time for B.C.'s busy festival season.
This project is expected to save over 100,000 pieces of paper each year—the only paper involved in the process will be the printed, approved license that needs to be accessible for authorities during events.
Provincial government processes up to 25,000 SOLs every year for weddings, club meetings, fundraisers, sports tournaments, music festivals, and more. The current process is rather time consuming and tedious, whereas the new online system will allow for immediate approval.
In addition, larger festivals will be able to use one online application and pay one fee for an event that covers multiple locations, rather than having to submit multiple applications and fees.
The Vancouver International Wine Festival will be one of the first larger festivals to switch to the online application process.
"We are looking forward to taking part in the pilot program - we're pleased to test this new system of an online application that provides us with a checklist of everything we need in advance of applying, and allows us to apply for multiple sites at once. We anticipate this will save our staff some time and effort, which we will now be able to direct to pulling off another incredible Vancouver International Wine Festival," said Randy Kaardal, board chair for Vancouver International Wine Festival.
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