A Prince George liquor store has been ordered to pay a $7,000 fine for selling alcohol to a minor.
According to a decision issued January 29, the minor was working undercover for the Liquor and Cannabis Licensing Branch when they made the purchase in July 2023 at the Eastway Liquor Box at 1836 Boundary Road.
Following a hearing, a Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch delegate found that the licensee failed to adequately train new employees and take reasonable steps to ensure policy was followed to prevent the contravention.
The licensee's attempt to get the decision overturned was subsequently rejected by the LCRB's general manager.
According to the general manager's summary of the original decision, the delegate concluded that the length of time for training was not long enough.
"The LRS (liquor retail store) normally had only one employee working at a time and a new employee would begin work on their own after only two four-hour training shifts," the general manager's decision says.
The delegate found some inconsistencies in how the store's policies were applied in regard to preventing sales to minors.
Employees were to sign a policy stating they would check the ID of every customer who appeared to be under 40 years old, but evidence showed the working threshold was actually under 30.
As well, a witness for the licensee testified that a "tattoo on a customer will often trigger a request for ID as these are common on younger customers." However, the minor who made the purchase had a visible tattoo, it was noted.
Employees were also supposed to enter any such incident in a log book, but only one employee did so regularly and the one who sold liquor to the minor had made no entries in the two years of her employment, the delegate found.
In seeking to have the original decision overturned, the licensee argued that the amount of training a new employee receives is based on the number of customers served. Once the number reaches 150-200, a new hire is asked to do a transaction alone.
But the general manager concluded that "the argument does not denigrate from the finding that initial training takes about two days."
The licensee further argued that two days was adequate because there was always someone present within the boundaries of the business. As well, management relied on reviewing video footage each day to ensure employees were checking for ID.
But the general manager found that "was contradicted by the fact that he was unaware of the sale to the minor agent until after he was contacted by a liquor inspector several days after the event."
The licensee has until the end of February to pay the fine.
