Bars and restaurants are slowly starting to come back and owners are hoping the province gives them some help with the price of liquor.

They’re hoping to get alcohol at wholesale prices not the current retail price.

BC Attorney General, David Eby, was on the NL Morning News and hinted that kind of help is on the way. “I know how important it is, this is the sector that’s been hardest hit in terms of layoffs and I think most people understand why bars, restaurants and tourism have been so impacted by this disproportionately compared to other industries.”

The Province is working on a plan to give owners in the industry a break. “This is a sector that employs hundreds of thousands of British Columbians and so the benefit of allowing them to buy alcohol at wholesale prices is that, instead of retail prices which they currently do is that difference between wholesale and what they’re able to sell to the customer to, actually goes to that business to support it to get it through this really difficult time.”

He knows how important the issue is to owners. “This program, I understand why the industry wants it so badly is because, and it’s why I think it is a really important suggestion and initiative from the industry, is it will support then directly and so I hope to have some news this week about that.”

Eby says other initiatives have relied on indirect supports like provincial property tax help or preventing businesses from being evicted from commercial spaces if the landlords qualify but he says this one helps stakeholders directly.