Municipal alcohol policies in BC: exploring best practices

Funding body: BC Ministry of Health and BC Health Communities

Background:  Municipal alcohol policies are sometimes developed formally, usually with a focus on how alcohol is allowed to be served on municipally owned premises and, as well, when special occasion licenses can be granted for one off events held in a municipality. There are also opportunities for municipal governments to influence the price, availability and promotion of alcohol in its local communities. The agency BC Healthy Communities has funded a BC-wide project that provides support funding to municipalities to develop their own municipal alcohol policy. CARBC was commissioned with the task of evaluating the extent to which this opportunity was taken up, the policies contained and the perceptions of key stakeholders regarding usefulness and effectiveness.

Progress to date: The project has been completed, a conference presentation given and a report provided to the BC Ministry of Health.