P.E.I. Liquor Control Act change could help microbreweries

The P.E.I. cabinet has approved a change to the Liquor Control Act that could help some microbreweries.

P.E.I. Liquor Control Commission director of corporate services Jamie MacLeod saidup until now, there was a requirement in the act that said a microbrewery had to free-standing, but he saidno one could define whatfree-standing actually meant.

And he saidthe same rule was not a licensing condition for a winery or distillery, which could be in the same building.

MacLeod saidthe commission felt it was time to change the rule to be fair to everyone.

"The commission also looked at the laws of the other provincial governments across Canada. None of them had that free-standing requirement and so on that basis, the liquor commission felt reasonable to make the recommendation on to executive council that the free-standing requirement for themicrobrewerybe removed from the license requirement," said MacLeod.

He notedthe microbrewery industry is growing and the commission wanted to be able to respond to any future requests.

So now a microbrewery can be combined with a winery or a distillery.

The new rule came into effect on April 2.