Quebec bar owners are lobbying the province to extend business hours until 6 a.m. to help reduce drunk driving and avoid end-of-the-night brawls.
The Quebec Bar Owners' Association said its request doesn't involve legislating drinking until dawn. Rather, it would allow establishments to stay open well past the 3 a.m. last call to allow people to sober up.
"People could continue to dance and have fun, and then we could close at five or six o'clock," said Renaud Poulin, president of the bar association, which counts more than 2,000 members across the province.
The idea would be to keep people from driving drunk, because they would have time to dance off their indulgences and sober up in the bar before heading home.
The idea could cut brawls that spill out onto the street when final call comes and goes, Poulin said. "When we put everyone outside at the same time, that's when we have conflicts. When people can leave in a gradual fashion, that's when we eliminate problems."
The association is meeting with Quebec minister of public security Jacques Dupuis next week to discuss the plan.
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The Quebec Bar Owners' Association said its request doesn't involve legislating drinking until dawn. Rather, it would allow establishments to stay open well past the 3 a.m. last call to allow people to sober up.
"People could continue to dance and have fun, and then we could close at five or six o'clock," said Renaud Poulin, president of the bar association, which counts more than 2,000 members across the province.
The idea would be to keep people from driving drunk, because they would have time to dance off their indulgences and sober up in the bar before heading home.
The idea could cut brawls that spill out onto the street when final call comes and goes, Poulin said. "When we put everyone outside at the same time, that's when we have conflicts. When people can leave in a gradual fashion, that's when we eliminate problems."
The association is meeting with Quebec minister of public security Jacques Dupuis next week to discuss the plan.
Full story
Do you think longer bar hours can help cut down on drunk driving and fighting?
Join the discussion at CBC Montreal.
More...