Alcohol regulator rings alarm bell on overserving in N.S. bars

Nova Scotia's alcohol regulator is raising the alarm about overservice of booze in bars and bars' lack of control of the premises, which can lead to serious consequences.

Jonpaul Landry, executive director of the province's alcohol, gaming, fuel and tobacco division, said in many cases, staff have lacked an understanding and appreciation of their role in serving what can be a lethal product.

Most recently in the news, Route 19 Brewing in Inverness, N.S., is facing a possible licence suspension after brewmaster Dallas Lewis fell off the brewery roof last year and died.

The facility is not facing any criminal charges or breaches of workplace safety laws.

The brewery and restaurant has been charged with administrative infractions of the liquor licensing regulations for allowing an employee to be intoxicated on the job, overserving an intoxicated person and not having control of the premises.

The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board is expected to rule on the charges sometime next year.

Other deaths

Also in Inverness, the Royal Canadian Legion lost its licence for 14 days after a customer was served four beers and the equivalent of 20 one-ounce shots of alcohol in one afternoon in April 2019, according to disciplinary decisions posted to the alcohol regulator's website.

The patron, Daniel Walker, was driven home from the legion and fell down some stairs and died.

Landry said there are three other cases in the past five years involving deaths connected to bars that are under investigation by the alcohol and gaming division. 

He could not comment on the details because no administrative charges have been laid and they are currently before the courts for criminal charges. 

In the most recent case, Jason Caines pleaded not guilty to manslaughter after allegedly killing Keith McMullen outside the Ashby Legion in Sydney earlier this year.

In addition, Adam Drake is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Pat Stay, who was stabbed outside a bar that was then called Yacht Club Social in downtown Halifax in September 2022.

Later that year, Ryan Sawyer was found unconscious outside the Halifax Alehouse and died, resulting in manslaughter and criminal-negligence-causing-death charges for bouncer Alexander Levy.

Longer licence suspensions 

Landry said the regulator has been seeking and getting longer licence suspensions for bars and increased training for staff to counter the problem of overserving alcohol.

However, administrative penalties under liquor licensing regulations do not come with fines or jail time. The alcohol and gaming division can only suspend or cancel a licence.

"With the increased seriousness of non-compliance that we are seeing, we have been looking for stronger penalties," Landry said.

"We're having 14 [and] 15 days suspensions now that previously might not have garnered that much."

Landry also said the province has expanded its training requirements for bar staff.

Now, all staff must have training

Previously, training for licensees and their delegates — often managers — has been a condition of the liquor licence.

In August, the province made it mandatory for all staff, including bartenders, servers and security.

Wayne MacKay, professor emeritus at Dalhousie University's Schulich School of Law, said increased education requirements and stiffer administrative penalties — especially for employees as well as licensees — could have the same effect as criminalizing overserving of alcohol.

But he said deterrence might be improved if at least one civil case successfully proved negligence, which would further penalize the licensee and employees.

"Maybe greater use of negligence cases might be an additional way to highlight how serious a problem this is," MacKay said.

The only problem with that is someone has to hire lawyers and try it in court, he said.

The widow of Route 19 brewmaster Dallas Lewis has launched a lawsuit against the company and one of its principals.

"Sometimes you win, sometimes you don't, so that's the downside of it, but if there are some cases, even if there's not very many, they can set a standard which people are then aware of and that hopefully leads to people being more cautious about what they're doing," MacKay said.

With five deaths in five years, it appears the current approach is not sufficient, he said.

"I think there is still room for more improvement, or this kind of problem wouldn't be growing in the way it is and my guess would be while we're improving consciousness and education, we aren't really following through with accountability in a way that really makes a difference and might deter people from bad conduct in the future."

Natasha Chestnut, executive director for the Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia, said the industry is embracing new mandatory training to help all staff recognize signs of intoxication and provide ways to mitigate it.

She said no one wants customers to die.

"It's unfortunate. We definitely don't want to see that," Chestnut said.

"We want a thriving food and beverage industry in Nova Scotia and part of that involves making a safe industry and a safe place for people to go."

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