Monitoring and controlling alcohol consumption by participants and spectators at recreational facilities is always a concern for Municipalities. This practice opens the Municipality up to additional liability exposures, but it is a reality regardless of the season, event, sport or league.

REGULAR RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES

One of the functions of a Municipality is to operate and maintain facilities for the use of its constituents and visitors. These facilities will vary in nature from parks, fields and walking trails to baseball diamonds, arenas and multi-use Recreational facilities. With ownership of these facilities comes a responsibility and a duty of care to people utilizing the facility.

Alcohol consumption by participants, before, during and after adult recreational league games should be addressed and reasonable policies enforced to minimize the Municipality’s exposure.  Rules must be in place to discourage unregulated alcohol consumption at the facility. If a Municipality or organization is passive in this regard, they could become liable.  Some of these exposures include injury to participants, or by participants causing damage to public and private property and/or bodily injury to third parties by intoxicated players or spectators when driving after the game.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Special events are, in some ways, easier to deal with.  In cases where it is a given that alcohol will be served, it is simply much easier to have the organizers purchase a PAL (Party Alcohol Liability) Insurance policy and have the Municipality added as an Additional Insured.  Premiums are quite reasonable and anyone can purchase them online at PAL Insurance Brokers. For example, the premium for $2,000,000 Liability, including Host Liquor Liability, for a wedding reception/social serving alcohol with 100 people is $165 plus a $33 fee.

HAVING A POLICY IN PLACE

Municipalities need to review the risk exposures of their facilities in general, and in particular with respect to alcohol.  Policies should then be put in place to reduce the exposures.  It is not our position to dictate what your specific policy should be or how it should be enforced, but it does need to be addressed.

Having a policy in place that prohibits alcohol consumption at Public facilities, then not monitoring or enforcing it is not effective, nor is turning a blind eye and pretending the risk doesn’t exist.  In Alberta, if a Municipality is found 1 per cent negligent for a loss, it can be held responsible for any shortfall in a responsible party’s coverage.

Policies will vary depending on the Municipality, along with the resources that they have available. Effective policies are ones that the staff can follow through on, possibly in conjunction with the Police or By-law enforcement.

Protocols for inspection, maintenance and enforcement should be practical and feasible, and subject to each individual Municipality’s staffing and budget constraints. These should take into account the employees who are expected to enforce the policies. For instance:

1. Are they being put into a position where they are unable or unwilling to enforce the policies? or
2. Are the participants also the teammates or neighbors of those you expect to enforce your policies?

These can create situations where By-law enforcement may be helpful.  It is a complicated issue, but one that needs to be considered as the law has taken much of the responsibility away from participants and put it onto the shoulders of the host, who typically has deeper pockets.

For special event facility use, there is more information on Host liquor Liability available in RiskPro Module 2, Chapter 4 ANI Toolkit.  If you do not have RiskPro Module 2, or have any questions, please contact our office.

For more information, please contact:

John Hackwell
Risk Management Advisor
780.955.4078 (phone)
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it