A BC bar owner who pulled a knife on a liquor inspector has been fined $3,000 and the business was closed for two weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to an Aug. 24 BC Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch decision, while the liquor inspector was at the Misty Harbour Inn in Haida Gwaii, a customer offered him cocaine before challenging him to a fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The decision said the liquor inspector was on the island for a few days in March conducting inspections when he got a tip that the Misty Harbour Inn was serving past its 2 a.m. cutoff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The liquor inspector headed to the bar at 1 a.m. and, after ordering himself a Lucky Lager, was approached by a man claiming to be the owner. The man offered the liquor inspector a \u201cbump\u201d and pulled out a clear plastic bag containing a white powder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the liquor inspector refused the \u201cbump,\u201d the man accused him of being a cop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The man, who claimed to own the pub but didn\u2019t, then ordered a round of shots for about 20 people sitting around the bar before pulling out a knife and pointing it at the liquor inspector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe extended the knife blade towards the Inspector\u2019s chest,\u201d the decision read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At that point, the actual bar owner, who was standing nearby, also took out a knife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe faced the Inspector and spun the knife in a figure eight motion,\u201d the decision said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trying to keep the situation calm, the inspector said \u201cnice blade\u201d and both men put their knives away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Switching from hostile and aggressive to joking, the man who had just pointed a knife at the inspector then offered him a shot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But when the inspector refused the shot, the man raised his fists and asked if he wanted a fight, before walking away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou should just go along with whatever (he) says, so there aren\u2019t any problems,\u201d one customer told the inspector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He left and called the police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The decision said both men were later charged and their cases are still ticking through the court system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bar was later ordered to close for 14 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the bar’s defence, the owner said the man who offered the inspector a \u201cbump\u201d is a \u201cbad actor\u201d and has since been barred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The owner denied pointing his knife at the inspector, and said he had been drinking and did not remember anything about pulling his knife out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Witnesses testified that the owner had pulled his knife out just to show them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the liquor board rejected the testimony that he had just been showing people the knife, and ruled the owner had displayed it, although not in a manner that was threatening. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The establishment was originally facing allegations from the Liquor Board for allowing illegal activities at the bar and for the bartenders drinking shots while working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, those allegations were withdrawn, and the Liquor Board instead fined the bar for allowing a person with a knife or weapon to enter or remain in the establishment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe seriousness of the contravention is normally a sound basis for increasing the penalty for a first contravention as proposed.\u00a0Threats to the police or to inspectors of the Branch are very serious matters and their safety must be protected,\u201d the Liquor Branch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the Liquor Inspector wanted a $5,000 penalty issued, the Branch ruled $3,000 was more appropriate, because while the owner had gotten his knife out, he hadn\u2019t done it aggressively.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It was quite the night at the bar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":292,"featured_media":8549,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"guid":"","source":"","byline":"","published":"","updated":"","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1810,706,704],"tags":[],"region":[547,548,549,550],"class_list":["post-8660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-local","category-topnews","region-kamloops","region-kelowna","region-penticton","region-vernon"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":7}},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/news\/8660\/bc-bar-fined-after-liquor-inspector-offered-cocaine-threatened-with-a-knife\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"BC bar fined after liquor inspector offered cocaine, threatened with a knife","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/news\/8660\/bc-bar-fined-after-liquor-inspector-offered-cocaine-threatened-with-a-knife\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/news\/8660\/bc-bar-fined-after-liquor-inspector-offered-cocaine-threatened-with-a-knife\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/inwine-pexels-pressmaster-3851376.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/inwine-pexels-pressmaster-3851376.jpg"},"articleSection":"Featured","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ben Bulmer"}],"creator":["Ben Bulmer"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNwine","logo":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/logo-inwine.png"},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-08-31T18:31:56Z","datePublished":"2026-08-31T18:31:56Z","dateModified":"2026-08-31T18:31:59Z"},"rendered":"