By Brooke, BC b-sides
They say all you have to do is ask, and you shall receive. When it came to feedback on , receive BC Gov did! There have been 4,364 blog comments, 41,195 votes cast, 2,842 direct emails, 65 face-to-face meetings and 188 letters from stakeholders and licensees.
The consultation centred around modernizing BC鈥檚 liquor policies, and will take a close look at the sale of beer and wine in grocery stores in BC. The website launched on September 14, 2013 and was open for input until October 31, 2013.
The face behind the consultation was , Parliamentary Secretary for Liquor Reform. 鈥淲e wanted to make it as easy as possible for everyone who had an opinion on liquor reform to share it,鈥� Yap says. 鈥淎nd we also wanted to make sure we gave people the background about liquor laws and policy in BC, so they鈥檇 be informed when they did.鈥�
BC Gov is listening (and facebooking)
As people鈥檚 expectations around government and new media change, BC Gov has been keeping pace. Yap has been , and to help draw people into the consultation. 鈥淚 think using social media is old fashioned democracy at work,鈥� Yap says. 鈥淧lus it leads to some healthy debate, and that鈥檚 important when you have big decisions on the table.鈥�
He鈥檚 not the only one getting social! Most BC Gov officials use social media to get the word out and with stakeholders online when they can鈥檛 in person; sharing photos, news and more on their twitter and Facebook feeds.
鈥淭here were a huge variety of opinions expressed in the consultation comments,鈥� notes Yap. 鈥淚 had a lot of fun responding and interacting with everyone. It definitely gave me a better picture of all the different ideas British Columbians had to improve our liquor policies鈥� While the comments are now closed, the site will stay active so British Columbians can continue to stay informed.
Over the next month, Yap鈥檚 team will be combing through the data and compiling all the recommendations to put together a report that reflects all the feedback received. Yap says, 鈥淣ow it鈥檚 my job to sit down to do the hard work to pull it all together into a report that will improve our laws and grow the economy, while keeping health and safety concerns in mind.鈥�
The finished report will be handed over to Attorney General and Minister of Justice Suzanne Anton by the end of November. From there, Anton will review the report and propose reforms to BC鈥檚 Cabinet.
Want more info?
- Read John Yap鈥檚 blog and public comments on liquor reform .
- Get the facts on liquor in BC, at Liquor 101 .
- Follow John Yap on Twitter at
- Stay up to date on news about liquor reform
Click to view a historical timeline of BC鈥檚 liquor laws
BC b-sides is the BC Gov blog where we take off our bureaucrat hats and connect person to person about BC stories that matter.
