Mandatory server training the new reality in Sask. nightclubs and bars
The death of 28-year-old Myles MacIntosh is not the only reason Saskatoon bars and clubs changed how they do business.
But the groom-to-be who died on the night of his stag in 2014 is on their minds.
"Absolutely," said Insp. Randy Huisman, the top cop in the city's downtown.
"I think the bars got an eye-opener on that one."
Last summer, the province introduced a mandatory server training program that it is phasing in over three years.
The training is designed to help staff identify intoxication, how to effectively stop service to a customer and understanding legal responsibilities and liabilities.
A night gone wrong
The chain of events that led to MacIntosh's death began when he was celebrating his stag in February 2014.
He was at a local club with friends when he apparently became drunk enough that he was kicked out of the club.
He was separated from friends, and had no wallet.
His fiancé Michelle Kohle said later that, had the bar staff behaved differently, he may have been able to get home safely.
Instead, he ended up wandering into the South Saskatchewan River and drowning.
Kohle called on the government to change laws to make bars and clubs more responsible for their patrons.
Server upgrade
Jim Bence, president and CEO of the Saskatchewan Hotel and Hospitality Association, agreed that the MacIntosh case is one reason club and bar owners and staff accept the mandatory training program.
It's not good enough to simply move the problem onto the street, he said.
"Quite frankly, the liability extends from when they're over-served almost to the point where they're sober. When it becomes that far reaching then the onus on the operator to make sure that over services doesn't happen is really important," he said.
Leave no one behind
Insp. Huisman said that police are typically responsible for what happens outside a club. They will not deal with issues inside, unless they're called or they're doing a check with paramedics and Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming officers.
So, it's up to the club staff and owners to stay on top of what's happening. That means knowing that someone may have began drinking, doing drugs, well before they arrive at a particular venue.
Huisman said everyone has a responsibility, including the friends of someone who may have gone too far.
"Do not leave any of your friends alone, don't let any of your friends leave you alone. It's incumbent upon you to take care of each other. Don't even for a second, if you're out dancing on the dance floor and you leave your drink behind on a shelf, it's gone, you're done. You either get a new drink, or you don't touch that one. We just can't trust things," he said.
"And never, ever leave a girl alone. Even if she doesn't want to come, you guys have to deal with that situation because that's when, when girls aren't in numbers that's when things happen. Just because you met a really nice guy at the bar doesn't mean that he's a nice guy when he takes you away."
