Attorney General Suzanne Anton has announced her ministry will take on a full review of the province's antiquated liquor regulations and we say cheers to that.
Our laws are among the strictest in Canada and, by extension, the world.
Many of them date back to a time when government was trying to appease the 20th century temperance movement, which viewed booze as sinful, demon alcohol. The temperance leaguers are mostly gone, but many of their rules remain on the books.
Europeans are baffled that, because of our bizarre rat's nest of rules, we can buy a bottle of wine and lottery tickets in one place, but must go to another if we want some cheese or bread to go with it.
Happy hours? Not for us. Wine and a movie? Nope. Only recently have we been allowed to bring our own wine to a meal out.
But restaurants and entertainment venues often still live or die based on whether they can wrest a liquor licence from the B.C. Liquor Control and Licensing Branch that will work for both the province, and their customers.
There's even talk of - gasp - allowing us to have a glass of wine with a picnic in the park or a beer at the beach.
No one is saying we should repeal the rules about public intoxication or underage drinking. Those things will remain every bit as illegal as before. But as long as the province remembers these are rules for adults, and keeps the consumer in mind when making changes, we'll raise a glass to some new, and more modern, ideas.
