NORTH VANCOUVER - Today at a 'Think Before You Let Them Drink' event, Advanced Education Minister and North Vancouver-Lonsdale MLA Naomi Yamamoto applauded another step taken by Minister Rich Coleman to help put a stop to bootlegging.

The Province is modernizing B.C.'s liquor laws to ensure people caught supplying youth with alcohol are penalized.

Changes being made to help stop bootlegging:

• Police and liquor inspectors now will have the ability to issue $575 tickets for people caught supplying liquor to minors, also known as bootlegging. This change will help reduce minors' access to alcohol.
• Currently, police hand out court appearance notices for violations. This change will free up police and court resources. 
• Accused parties still have the ability to dispute the ticket in court, but the ticket is valid and payable, if not challenged. 
• This reinforces our commitment to reducing access to alcohol by minors.
  

Quotes:

Minister Rich Coleman -

"This change will not only modernize a liquor law in B.C., but more importantly it will help crack down on bootlegging and helping reduce the minors' access to liquor - a priority for our government."

North Vancouver-Lonsdale MLA Naomi Yamamoto -

"I was surprised to learn that the 2008 BC Adolescent Health Survey found that of youth who had tried alcohol, 44 per cent reported binge drinking in the past month. With high school graduations taking place across B.C., it's important to reduce the number of alcohol-related accidents that can happen and encourage young people to celebrate safely."

Media contact:

Sandra Steilo
Ministry of Energy and Mines
250-952-0617