2 THE DAILY VOICE, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2018 EDITOR FIRST KELCI NICODEMUS Cws Liquor and lettuce may share same aisle Cold beer stores concerned that possible alcohol sales in grocery stores could hinder profit By KRISTEN HARPULA .C. booze czar John Yap’s recom- mendations might be good news for consumers across the prov- ince, but what it means for cold beer and wine stores is still uncertain. Yesterday at Vancouver’s World Trade Centre, Yap, the province’s par- liamentary secretary for liquor-policy reform, recommended the government move forward with developing and im- plementing a retail model to allow al- cohol sales in grocery stores. “Since it is clearly on the top of so many British Columbians’ wish lists, I have recommended that B.C. allow li- quor sales in grocery stores,” Yap said. Yap recommended maintaining the current number of licensed alcohol dis- tributors in the province at 731. To give public and private liquor stores time to adjust to these changes, the B.C. gov- ernment should adopt a phased-in ap- proach to the new model, Yap said. Kevin Loewen, manager of Firefly Fine Wines and Ales in Vancouver, called the plan “completely fucked.” “It’s convenient for the consumer, but it’s not great for the private sector of liquor store owners,” Loewen said. “There is a business community of private stores that have adapted them- selves around how the B.C. govern- ment works. For all of us to work hard to build these businesses as a private sector, now they are saying that gro- cery stores can go ahead and do that is just unbelievable.” Loewen said he was also concerned about the proximity of Whole Foods to his store because he wouldn’t be able to compete with the company if it’s al- lowed to carry the same wide product range their U.S. counterparts do. Competing with grocery stores who have more financial backing than these smaller private stores could potential- ly put hundreds of people out of jobs, according to Loewen. Brandon Folkes, manager at Steam- works Liquor Store in Gastown, said he didn’t feel too worried about this changeover, as they are a well-estab- lished store that isn’t close to any gro- cery stores. “Our focus is toward more specula- tive items like specialty import wines, microbrews, import beers, probably stuff that I don’t think will be carried,” Folkes said. “Generally our clientele is more fo- cused on the alternative [products]. I don’t think it will be too bad for us in that respect.” Some other concerns were raised about the accessibility of alcohol to mi- nors and the possible increase of alco- holism, but Yap said his recommenda- tions address these concerns and will maintain the province’s high standards for protecting health and safety. 66 It’s is convenient for the consumer but it’s not great for the liquor store own- ers Kevin Loewen Residents rant on sky-high rentals Even though the city has tried to lower prices for renters, costs remain high By DEANNA CHENG the City of Vancouver for develop- ers seeking incentives are still too high. In a staff report to city council, the chief housing officer gave proposed minimum and maximum rents for de- velopments that want to market afford- able rental units. The minimum rent is $770 per month for a studio unit in the East Side and the maximum is $2,520 for a three-bed- room in the West End. Ginny Richards of the West End Neighbours said it is disappointing. “There’s nothing about affordable housing. It’s a lot of spin. As it turns out, it is not affordable. It’s called mar- ket rental.” The city’s affordable housing initia- tives are targeting people with house- hold incomes ranging from $21,500 to $86,500 annually. However, Richards said, “the rental rates are so high that only the top end of the income earners can get it. “Tf you earn about $80,000, you can afford a two-bedroom. If you’re around $26,000, you won’t be able to afford any of them. Nothing about them is afford- able.” Vision Vancouver city councillor Kerry Jang said the city needs to en- courage more rental stock and provide renters more choice. “There’s been no new rental stock since the 1980s,” he said. In a report on defining “for-profit af- fordable rental housing,” there are three key factors in calculating the rent. First, the city staff compared pro- posed rents to the average market rents to ensure the units were typical housing units. They checked the numbers to see if they were providing an affordable op- tion to home ownership in the city. Staff calculate the annual income one needs to afford the proposed rents, using 30 per cent of income as an ac- ceptable benchmark. Reecs say the rent rates set by KELCI] NICO Medical marijuana operations are looking for young people with a variety of different skills, but schools aren't keeping up with the demand. Pot employment budding for agricultural students Commercial pot farming is a growing business in B.C. and opportunities abound for students with agricul- tural backgrounds. By BILL EVERITT censing commercial grow opera- tions in an effort to privatize the industry. The first licenses were handed out in September. Today there are approxi- mately 37,000 medical marijuana users in Canada. They expect that number to increase to 450,000 by 2024. Michael Adler, of Archer Adler Con- H::::: Canada recently began li- sulting Solutions, said the new medical marijuana operations are looking for students with a range of skills. He said a Langara grad who did not want to be identified was working with them to roll out the medical marijuana program in Vancouver. Health Canada’s licensing rules stip- ulate that a license holder must be an adult who lives in Canada. Other opportunities exist in the plant science, business administration and agricultural facets of the industry. However, schools may be lagging to catch up with this new industry. Associate dean at UBC’s Sauder School of Business Tom Ross said that changing programming to cater to this industry has not come up in conversa- tion. “As far as I know, there is no sense of new programming,” he said. Adrian Livesley, student services as- sistant at the Langara counseling of- fice, said agriculture is not a popular topic with students looking for career guidance. “Not a single student has inquired about [commercial pot growing] spe- cifically,” he said. “They often look at the bigger fields like nursing, law school, business more generally — nothing so specific.” Gavin Clover, a general study stu- dent, said working in the commercial pot industry seemed more feasible than doing the growing himself. “Tm not sure a bank would give you a loan for that. | would more likely be a wage-earner at an operation like that.” — DEMUS photo illustration —— oes 66 Nota single stu- dent has inquired about [commer- cial pot growing specifi- cally Adrian Livesley