PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
by Al Arbuthnot, President, ABLE BC


After an exhaustive search, we are very pleased to announce that Kim Haakstad has been hired as ABLE’s new Executive Director. With her strong background in government relations and senior management positions, Kim will be a positive addition to our growing association. 

The summer edition of The Publican has been very well received, and we have had a number of new members join us recently. We look forward to our membership continuing to increase in the 2007-2008 fiscal year. As a reminder to current members, we will be mailing you a renewal invoice before September 1st (start of fiscal) along with an information package of current benefits.

Recently I met with Solicitor General John Les to discuss a number of ongoing issues needing to be resolved so both pubs and liquor stores can continue to improve. We addressed licensee-to-licensee sales, lotteries, and the upcoming smoking ban. We let him know how the smoking ban will affect the revenue generated from pubs and the negative effect on revenue from lotteries as well. ABLE is working with the BC Lottery Corporation to find new and innovative ways to increase revenue from lotteries. ABLE is reviewing the proposed tobacco regulations to see if modifications could be made to allow smoking on patios, particularly in colder climates up north. ABLE is working in collaboration with the BCRFA, CRFA, and other industry stakeholders. We made a formal presentation to the government on July 19th. 

Although we have made some gains with the ID-under-25 issues, ABLE is working diligently with the government to modify the penalty structure.

Since pubs have ongoing issues with staffing in kitchens, we are continuing to press for changes to the rules, which would allow minors to work in the kitchen.

I look forward to seeing everyone at ABLE’s annual golf tournament on Tuesday September 18th at Redwoods Golf Course in Langley.