On August 23rd we held our Beer on the Beach Picnic Protest at First Beach in English Bay! I can’t stress enough how excited I am by how this event went. We had dozens of media requests, and had between 40 and 50 people come through the event and drink a beer in protest of our archaic public drinking laws! It went off without incident (and with zero garbage left behind); we worked with the Vancouver Police Department and kept things responsible, civil and constructive.
This event was the beginning of a large movement in the lower mainland – I can feel it. While we only had 50 or so people show up to the event proper, we had hundreds of people engaged on social media around attending or discussing the event, we had extensive media interest, and we got things moving in a very real way.
What’s next? Great question! Pressure! Pressure on our local municipal governments to start moving on this. It is high-time we started turning the Greater Vancouver Area into the world-class city we all claim it is. I am pushing hard on my own channels to get more tangible discussions with the likes of the cities of New Westminster, Port Moody and Vancouver. You can help by writing your local municipal representatives and tell them that this is an issue that matters to you. I have taken the liberty of writing a very basic letter you can use as a template. Feel free to take it, adapt it and use it as you see fit. It only takes a few minutes to send it off!
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To Whom it May Concern
On August 23rd, 2017, the Vancouver branch of the Campaign for Real Ale Society of BC (CAMRA BC) held a Picnic on the Beach Beer Protest in English Bay. This was an event designed specifically to show that people can drink in public settings responsibly and in a way that is not detrimental to the community, and it went off without any problems. As a voter in your municipality I feel it is important that we take a stronger stance on this issue.
Under provincial liquor policies, “a public place, or part of it, may be designated, by a bylaw of the municipality or regional district that has jurisdiction over the public place, as a place where liquor may be consumed” (s 73, Liquor Control and Licensing Act of British Columbia). As a supporter of CAMRA Vancouver’s initiative, I ask you to speak out on behalf of beer consumers and engage in this discussion.
Please reach out to CAMRA Vancouver President David Perry at pres@camravancouver.ca to discuss how our municipality can be the first in the lower mainland to take a step towards modernizing our drinking laws. Or better yet, present these ideas forward to city council so we can get this moving!
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