It wasnt quite a Sophies Choice moment, but on Jan. 19Corinne Lea was forced to choose between two, equally vital aspects of her business.
Would she sign the Rio Theatres liquor licence that finally allows her to sell alcohol at live events or would she forego the much-needed revenue because the licence comes at the cost of never being able to show a movie at the theatre again?
I find it really, really severe, the Rios owner says of the Liquor Control Board rule that does not allow a movie theatre to sell alcohol even though the Rio is not technically just a movie theatre.
The people calling us a movie theatre are in Victoria, Lea says. They dont know who we are or the consequences of this decision. It could shut us down.
Karen Ayers, the general manager of the provinces Liquor Control and Licensing Branch, says that theatres arent allowed at present to sell alcohol since young people are often in the audience and its too difficult to control whos drinking in the darkened space. While alcohol is available at concerts at the Rogers Centre, such venues have more staff to patrol the audience.
While there are theatres including Cineplex Odeon that are urging the province follow the example of Ontario, which allows alcohol in some theatres, it would come at a cost of prohibiting minors from gaining admittance.
When Lea started the process, she says she thought shed be able to sell alcohol at the live events and simply turn off the taps when she was showing movies. It would be a compromise shed grudgingly make, believing that the rules banning alcohol sales at movies no longer make sense. Add to that the Rio is not a movie theatre; its a multi-media venue.
But when the LCB inspector arrived with the paperwork, Lea was told that if she signed the liquor licence it meant the screens would have to go dark. It felt like an ultimatum, Lea says.
Now she says she stands to lose $20,000 in revenues this week alone because of the darkened movie screen. This means employees are out of work until there are special events and they're left feeling uncertain about the future.
Its absolutely ridiculous, MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert says. Its a provincial regulation thats probably been around since the 1920s. Its a puritanical oh-my-God-what-about-the-children? rule. Its bureaucracy gone mad.
As the NDPs culture critic, Herbert has presented petitions and raised the issue in the legislature before. Now, like Lea, hes more worried than ever about the financial viability of independent movie theatres given the barriers to seeking various types of revenue.
Because the rule against selling alcohol is a regulation, not a law, the cabinet has the ability to fix the problem by order of council.
He is encouraging supporters of theatres such as the Rio to contact their MLA asking for a change in legislation and copy him on any correspondence. An East Side movie theatre they might ignore, he says of being able to change minds in Victoria. But citizens voices make make a difference.
