Nearly one month after Ontario eased restrictions to allow residents to bring their own alcoholic beverages to some events, there’s been little uptake. Municipalities have been hesitant to adopt the necessary bylaws that would allow residents to bring their own booze to some outdoor community events. In Windsor, the city hasn’t introduced any plans to pave the way for a bring-your-own-beverage permit. Chris MacLeod, the chair of the Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Area, told CTV News they haven’t been pushing to see that change. “We’re not sure that it’s necessarily good for our downtown businesses if we start to promote open carry that you bought somewhere else,” MacLeod said Thursday afternoon. As of April 30, the permit process has been expanded to include municipally designated culture or community events. When announced in March, Ontario Premier Doug Ford pitched the idea for settings like outdoor farmers markets, movie showings and festivals. At the time, MacLeod wanted to hear from those who regularly attend the Downtown Windsor Farmers’ Market. “At the downtown market, we’re not getting feedback that we should be allowing people to, you know, buy and consume at the market and that kind of thing,” MacLeod noted Typically, when running events, MacLeod said they will serve alcohol through a licensee downtown. Through the bring-your-own-beverage framework, those aged 19 and older can bring alcohol to permitted events. However, many municipalities have opted not to develop the necessary bylaws for BYOB permitting, including the Town of Essex and the Municipality of Chatham-Kent. Victoria Bodnar, the Community Attraction and Promotion Manager for Chatham-Kent, noted the decision came after talks with event organizers and other municipalities. “There wasn’t a clear benefit for special event organizers because a lot of them are getting revenue from sales of alcohol, and then against that, there’s increased liability concerns,” Bodnar said. Of the 17 event organizers who provided feedback to the municipality, 15 said they would not consider using a permit. Concerns included increased risk, higher insurance costs, and a loss of bar sales. “With the BYO model, it’s currently unclear to us, and it’s unclear to special event organizers how to best manage that for the safety of the community,” Bodnar added. While Chatham-Kent won’t be participating this year, Bodnar said they will be monitoring other communities to see how the framework for a bylaw is developed. “So I think at this moment we’re curious about how that may play out in places that do allow people, but we don’t have the solution yet,” she added. As for Windsor, MacLeod believes the permits could serve a purpose for smaller events. “We would certainly like to see it kind of confined to, you know, smaller functions, where it wouldn’t make sense for a licensee to get involved,” MacLeod noted. Without permits in place, municipalities continue to remind residents that bringing your own alcohol to public events is prohibited.
