Liquor leniency during Olympic gold-medal game prompts talk of permanent shift in Alberta

Something magical happened this weekend that a lot of Canadians will remember for the remainder of their lives. Yes, sure, Canada's Olympic men's hockey team won gold in Sochi. But many who woke early back home in Canada got to drink alcohol while they watched the game!!

Does that fact deserve two exclamation points? For many of the people who awoke at 7 a.m. in Ontario. 5 a.m. in Alberta and earlier still on the Pacific coast, it surely does.

Now, Alberta is considering whether to harness the excitement of Olympic gold to loosen booze laws permanently.

Doug Horner, Alberta’s finance minister with responsibility for the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission, said on Monday that he would consider amending the province’s liquor laws.

“It was important to give Albertans a chance to watch Sunday’s game together, so I was pleased the AGLC was able to accommodate this request,” Horner said in a statement.

“Allowing all licensees to begin liquor service at 5 a.m. was unprecedented for Alberta and proved to be a unique experience for everyone who took part. I know thousands of Albertans truly enjoyed the opportunity to gather in their local pubs, bars and restaurants to watch Canada win gold.

“Because this opportunity was so unprecedented, the AGLC is going to take the time to talk to its partners — including law enforcement, licensees and municipalities — to see how this unique event went. I trust they’ll use the feedback they receive to help them make informed decisions about any similar future requests.”

There was an outpouring of excitement over the novelty measures taken by several Canadian districts, allowing pubs and restaurants to serve alcohol during the earliest hours of Sunday morning. Because hockey isn't hockey without a pint, a shot and a Caesar to chase it down.

Toronto approved the measure, as did Halifax. Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta followed suit. In the end, it was worth it. Canada beat Sweden 3-0 to win gold at the Olympics. The cross-country celebrations will surely be remembered as the stuff of legend. Premier Alison Redford even joined a few colleagues at a Calgary bar to watch the game.

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Apparently the event's success has some looking for a repeat. "The bars opened up at 5 AM today thanks to Premier Alison Redford ... should we have relaxed bar hours all the time?" Calgary MLA Jonathan Denis posted on his Facebook page, eliciting some 60 responses.

The Calgary Sun reports that police in both Edmonton and Calgary experienced no major incidents as hundreds of hockey fans packed into pubs and bars as early as 5 a.m., although the head of the Edmonton Police Association is urging caution on the issue.

Now, relaxed laws wouldn't necessarily mean that bars could start slinging booze at 5 a.m. every day. Denis, for example, suggests they consider staggering closing times, allowing some bars to stay open later to reduce the demand a universal last call has on taxi cabs. MLA Thomas Lukaszuk also led a discussion about the issue on Twitter, eliciting comments about 24-hour bars, beer vending machines and a variety of other topics.

Horner seems to believe this talk isn't cheap. There may be something to it.

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“I had already committed to working with the AGLC and my caucus colleagues to review the Gaming and Liquor Act in the next year," he said. "Certainly the discussions that have taken place over social media over the past weekend will be taken into consideration as we develop our public consultation. I know this is a topic that gets Albertans talking.

“At the end of the day, we want to keep everyone in this province safe while ensuring that Albertans can enjoy liquor responsibly.”

Using an unprecedented, one-of-a-kind experience to fuel a populist policy change is tricky. We're not going to win gold every Sunday morning, and is this excitement more than just an Olympic hangover?

Some people had a beer during Sunday's game for the novelty of it, but almost everyone who did chased it with a nap. Surely there isn’t a demand for booze access every morning.

But there’s no reason not to talk about what changes would make sense.

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