Kelowna liquor store wins appeal after serving teen in sting operation

In a rare move, a Kelowna liquor store has managed to avoid a $7,000 fine after it inadvertently served an 18-year-old.

According to a May 21 BC Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch decision, the O.K. Corral Cold Beer Liquor Store was caught in a sting operation and sold a six-pack to a teen earlier this year.

The BC Liquor Branch regularly employ minors to attempt to buy alcohol from bars, restaurants and liquor stores, to make sure businesses are not breaking the law.

For those caught fines start at $7,000 and while businesses can appeal, few succeed.

BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association took aim at the program last year, saying it was seeing too many reputable businesses fall foul of the law and receive steep fines for one simple mistake. The restaurant and bar industry association said that in the majority of cases, serving an underage person was just an error, and a $7,000 fine was enough to close a business.

Nonetheless, the province has pushed on with the program, and the O.K. Corral Cold Beer Liquor Store sting operation took place in January when the 18-year-old entered the store and bought a six-pack of Michelob Ultra 4% alcohol beer.

The store’s owner, Christina Warnick, appealed the fine, arguing the business had taken numerous measures to make sure minors aren’t served and had done its due diligence.

If a store can prove that all its checks and balances are in place and it did its due diligence, it can avoid a fine.

The liquor store employee who served the teen said they thought they recognized the person as a regular at the bar next door, which is why they didn’t ask for ID.

As a consequence, the staff member was suspended for a week after the incident.

While the liquor inspectors argued the store should pay a $7,000 fine, the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch delegate saw it differently.

The liquor store argued it had training and other systems in place to identify if a customer is over 19 years old, and took numerous steps to implement its policy.

The store presented its array of checks and the vigorous staff training that employees go through.

“The manager confirmed that she had trained the employee (who sold to the teen) that the employee was very conscious of the requirement to ask for identification, that she had seen the employee many times in the past do so, and that not asking (the teen) for their identification was clearly a mistake on his part and not either ignorance of or a misunderstanding of the licensee’s clear policies,” the liquor branch delegate said.

The delegate said the store had an atmosphere of strict compliance and accepted its defence of due diligence and dismissed the fine.