BARS SHOULD JUMP ON LIQUOR LAW CHANGES TO PROTECT WOMEN

It has been a chilly response in the three weeks since the province
widened liquor laws aimed at protecting women at bars.

The new licence would allow patrons to take their drinks into the
bathroom with them, rather than leaving them unattended.

It was heralded as a significant deterrent to drink-spiking with
so-called date rape drugs.

However, only about 100 of the more than 20,000 bars and restaurants
provincewide have applied since the new liquor licence was enacted
Feb. 1, according to the Ministry of Government Services.

Sweeping consumer protection, including added safeguards from title
fraud for homeowners and banning expiry dates on gift cards, have had
more traction than expanded licencing at restaurants and bars since
the changes were introduced more than two months ago.

But conversion will take time, ministry spokesperson Ciaran Ganley
said.

"It's early. We expect more (bars and restaurants) will take advantage
of it as the option becomes more well known," Mr. Ganley said.

While there haven't been any incidents of a patron's drink being
tampered with at his restaurant, anything that helps protect his
customers should be viewed positively by the industry, said Mike
Wilson, owner of Richmond Hill's Brix Napa Valley Grille and Wine Bar.

Like most bar or restaurant owners, he hasn't yet applied for the new
licence, but says he will."There are some whackos out there, so you
have to be careful," Mr. Wilson said.

"(The new liquor licence) will relieve some pressure
too.

"It's a hassle for a restaurant or bar to have security posted at the
bathroom and signs posted everywhere."

The Fox and the Fiddle in Newmarket is one of the few establishments
with an application for the new licence before provincial bureaucrats,
owner Theva Nada said.

The company's owns 19 several similar pubs across the province. The
decision to have its bathrooms licenced, came from head office, said
Mr. Nada, adding he fully supports the move.

Memos were sent out earlier this month to all Fox and Fiddle locations
in Ontario, urging owners to apply for the new licence, said the
company's director of operations Mark Ten Eycke.

"They're not forced to apply, but we strongly suggested it. I think if
you don't apply, you will be putting people at risk," Mr. Ten Eycke
said.

However, York Regional Police haven't had reported incidents of
drink-spiking in more than a year, said Shelley Rogers, a detective
with the force's sexual assault bureau.

However, sexual assaults often go unreported, she added.

"I think (the new licence) is excellent. It will give women the
ability to protect themselves," Det. Rogers said.

Dawn Elste, 21, said the move is long overdue.

She and friends called police in North Bay, where she attends
university, after they suspected someone slipped drugs in one of their
drinks.

"Security would tell us we couldn't take our drinks in the bathroom,
but we did it anyways," she said.

Date rape drugs render victims physically helpless, unable to refuse
sex and they often can't remember the events leading up to the incident.

The drugs, which can act within 15 minutes, often have no colour,
smell or taste and can be easily added to flavoured drinks with the
victim ever knowing.

The three most common date rape drugs are GHB (gamma hydroxybutyric
acid), Rohypnol and Ketamine.

But licencing bathrooms may present a new challenge to bar and
restaurant owners who won't be able to police what patrons do with
drinks in the bathroom, said Mr. Wilson, adding he would have
preferred the new rules were simply enacted as law, rather than
requiring an application process.

An application process is better suited for bars, the ministry said,
because it allows owners to licence specific areas of their
establishment they identify on their application.

The free application requires owners identify and provide a sketch of
the additional areas they want licenced.

Drinks in the lavatory may be a new concept, but it will still be
strictly enforced, the ministry said.

That means any bar or restaurant owner allowing booze in the bathroom
without an additional liquor licence could lose their right to sell
suds.

But the public shouldn't expect the more than 20,000 bars and
restaurants across Ontario to comply, said Stephanie Jones, of the
Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association.

For instance, there will likely be little demand for the new licence
for a family restaurant, she said.

"Our members need time to assess their business and decide if this
makes sense for their patrons," Ms Jones said.

"These things take time."