Liquor licences have been slashed by half.
Effective immediately, the retail licence will drop from $1 000 to $500.
Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler says this should reduce shoopkeepers’ cost of doing business.
 Sinckler, in his Budget presentation Monday evening, referred to the late Minister of Finance David Thompson, who considered and instituted a series of liquor license fee increases.
“Most of these have gone through with only marginal impact on the operators. However several small shop operators, including some in my own constituency have complained that the increases were too steep and have drastically eroded their earnings. I have heard their protestations…” he said.
