Section 19-2(A) of Nova Scotia's liquor control act was a historical hangover, an 80-year-old law forcing people to eat a meal if they wanted to drink booze on Good Friday.
It created headaches for modern-day restaurant owners like Brian Doherty.
“We decided, instead of trying to force a plate of chips into people, we'd shut,” said Mr. Doherty, owner of the Old Triangle Irish Alehouse in downtown Halifax.
But not today.
Douglas Robb enjoys a pint at Halifax’s Old Triangle Irish Alehouse, where a full house is expected on Good Friday. (Paul Darrow for The Globe and Mail)
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For the first time in almost 80 years, due to recent changes in provincial liquor-control legislation, drinking establishments in Nova Scotia can remain open on Good Friday.
The changes also mean that pubs and restaurants licensed to serve food, like the Old Triangle, are not required to make patrons spend more on grub than they do on hooch. Until this year, downing two pints of Guinness along with an $8 plate of nachos was illegal on Good Friday. You had to eat more.
“They've seen the light,” says Mr. Doherty of the province's decision, which also allowed bars to stay open on Christmas Day for the first time.
The move is part of a larger modernization of Canada's liquor laws. Over the past few decades, provinces have been slicing away regulations left over from a more moralistic past, when religion flavoured everything from politics to when and where alcohol could be consumed.
As far as Good Friday goes, Nova Scotia was one of the last holdouts. Only Manitoba and Prince Edward Island still require pubs and clubs to be shuttered during the Christian holiday. In Saskatchewan, bars can open, but not until noon.
“Good Friday has held out as one of the last ones because of its religious connotations,” said Craig Heron, associate professor of history at York University and author of Booze: A Distilled History. “Which is odd in a society where there are many, many other religions that don't celebrate Good Friday.”
What is not surprising is that two of the last three holdouts – Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island – are Maritime provinces, said Greg Marquis, a history professor at the University of New Brunswick.
Counter to modern stereotypes, the Maritimes have traditionally been the most conservative when it comes to liquor legislation, said Dr. Marquis, who is currently researching a book on the history of alcohol control in 20th-century Canada.
PEI was the first province to bring in prohibition, in 1901, and the last to get rid of it, in 1948, he said. Nova Scotia was the second-to-last of the original nine provinces to jettison prohibition, in 1930, he said. New Brunswick allowed its first taverns in 1962, and for eight years they permitted men only.
It was around 1930 when Nova Scotia's laws banning public consumption of alcohol on Christmas Day and Good Friday were probably set in place, he said. (Provincial officials said they weren't sure how old the law was, but 1930 sounded reasonable.)
“[The government] had to put rules in place to reassure the temperance groups and some of the church groups that there would be some control,” Dr. Marquis said.
In Nova Scotia, the elimination of Section 19-2(A) came into effect on Aug. 17 last year, one of several changes to the province's Liquor Control Act. They resulted from consultations with bar and restaurant owners across the province, said Danielle Kuhn, spokeswoman for the province's environment and labour ministry.
Prince Edward Island doesn't plan to follow Nova Scotia's lead any time soon, said Wayne MacDougall, the CEO of the PEI Liquor Control Commission. “Nobody's banging down my door to get it changed,” he said.
Some bar owners, however, said they shouldn't be forced to close on a Friday, one of the most lucrative days of the week.
“I think you should be able to do what you want,” said Peter Hyndman, owner of the Merchantman Pub in downtown Charlottetown.
Meanwhile, in Halifax, Mr. Doherty is anticipating a full house tonight at the Old Triangle Irish Alehouse.
“I always expect a crowd,” Mr. Doherty said. “On a Friday night, particularly.”
Landmarks in boozing
Some other esoteric liquor laws have been banished in recent years.
- In 1999, changes to B.C. laws meant restaurants were allowed to serve drinks to customers who didn't order a meal. Until then, an order of chicken wings did not constitute a meal, unless accompanied by garlic toast and salad. Even a plate of nachos “split between two average-sized people” didn't make the grade.
- In November, 2000, the last dry neighbourhood in Toronto voted to end the ban on serving booze in area pubs and restaurants. The area known as “the Junction,” located west of downtown Toronto, was the town of West Toronto when it revoked liquor licences in 1903 because of rowdy drunks.
- In 2004, a law was repealed that required all drinks served at Ontario sporting events to have lids. Apparently, lidless cups don't make very good projectiles.
Compiled by Johanna Boffa
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