A quick update on some recent events:
First, some great news for brewers, retailers and consumers:
The government has announced that, as of June 3, small and regional breweries will see the markup rate on their products reduced by 25%. This will allow breweries to produce products for less – which benefits all of us. While it goes without saying that we take issue with a number of changes made as a result of the April 1, 2016 liquor law changes, this is definitely a positive change and a move in the right direction.
Read more about this here.
CAMRA UK:
Next, I’d like to mention quickly that our peers over in CAMRA UK , in their 45th year, have decided to seek public consultation as to whether to shift the focus of their mandate in order to modernize. A few weeks ago, I reached out in the interest of coming together and discussing how to learn from each other’s experiences. The UK organization has 45 years of experience running major campaigns, engaging the government and making sure members are given the support they need. In the case of CAMRA BC, we have had a much more inclusive mission statement supporting and advocating for craft beer at large (as opposed to purely traditional cask ale). Both sides bring value to the table, and both sides can only benefit from the experience of the other. More to come on this soon, but learn more about their consultation here.
CAMRA BC Monthly Meetings:
Traditionally, the BC Executive would meet once or twice a year to discuss direction, cross-organizational issues, and other high-level items. In order to reduce the strain on our BC budget, as well as develop a more rapid and frequent exchange between Executive members, we have transitioned to a monthly meeting conducted via group video call online. This means projects get executed faster, decisions don’t wait multiple months to be made, and branches get the support they need much sooner. We are also endeavouring to be hyper-conscious about how member money is being spent to support our annual in-person Summit meetings – this means making smarter, strategic decisions about travel and everything else that goes into pulling our team together. Smarter spending means more money supporting your local branches, as well as a larger resource pool from which to execute advocacy initiatives.
We’ve already cultivated results from this monthly format: in our first meeting, we’ve identified and agreed on the advocacy initiatives we feel are important to pursue at a provincial level. Details on these projects will be rolled out very soon, but having everyone on the same page and supporting these from all corners of the province was enormously advantageous in getting these kicked off.
There will much more to announce very soon as far as launching major campaigns, the progress made in South Fraser, engaging the government and other beer/liquor related interests.
Cheers,
Jeremy Noonan
President,
CAMRA BC