Why and How to Add a Catering Endorsement to Your BC Liquor License
October 17, 2025
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October 27, 2025
October 27 Update: BCGEU Reaches Tentative Agreement with BC Government
On October 26, 2025, BCGEU and the government of BC reached a tentative agreement after 8 weeks of job action.
“Under the agreement, employees will receive a general wage increase of 3% per year for four years, along with additional targeted pay adjustments for the lowest paid workers in the public service to address the affordability crisis”. (Source: BCGEU media release, October 26, 2025)
- The BC Liquor Distribution Branch resumed wholesale operations on October 27, which are now operating 24/7 to catch up
- BC Liquor Stores and BC Cannabis Stores Re-Open. BCCS website not taking online orders yet, but hopes to re-open online ordering as soon as possible
- Delivery delays are expected while the backlog of orders is cleared
- It may take weeks for government stores and private liquor and cannabis stores to restock to pre-strike levels
Original article published on October 20, 2025:
The ongoing BCGEU strike is giving BC’s retail cannabis licensees flashbacks. The unease is understandable given just how bad things became for BC’s licensed cannabis stores during the 2022 strike. In August 2022, the public sector strike forced tens of cannabis retailers to temporarily close and/or lay off staff when store inventories were sold out and product delivery was halted by the strike.
The 2022 strike hit BC cannabis retailers hard:
- BCGEU was on strike for 2 weeks until the end of August 2022
- 50 cannabis retailers had to temporarily close after running out of stock
- Up to 500 cannabis shop employees were laid off
- Layoffs occurred in the midst of a Canada-wide post-COVID labour shortage.
Rehiring would be difficult. According to Statistics Canada, 37% of all businesses expected difficulty filling positions.
Sources for the list of facts:
“BCGEU ending strike in ‘good faith’ after progress in contract negotiations”, August 30, 2022, CBC News.
“Labour shortage trends in Canada”, 2022, Statistics Canada.
In a September 2, 2025 Global News article about the current strike, Michelle Cozzuol, founder and CEO of Count Canna, referenced the 2022 strike saying that “It took so many businesses and retailers, producers, farmers, everything to recoup from that, and so this onset of the potential strike has brought on all of these feelings again.”
2025 Will (Fingers Crossed) Likely Cause Less Disruption
In 2022, the BC government allowed direct business-to-business sales so that retailers could buy stock. In the current situation, StratCann reports that many BC cannabis retailers stocked up in anticipation of the BCGEU strike and that the Direct Delivery program, which allows smaller producers to sell directly to retailers is also helping retailers get inventory to serve their customers.
Talk to a Cannabis License Consultant Today!
Whether you run a private cannabis store and need help with retail cannabis strategy or are a start-up that wants to apply for a cannabis license, the consultants at Thrive Advisors are good people to know!
