Eagles upset about female liquor inspector's arrival in their dressing room
Members of a Parksville oldtimers' hockey team were shocked when a female member of the provincial Liquor and Licensing Branch entered their dressing room to conduct an inspection for liquor consumption after a game in Duncan against the Cowichan Valley Ol' Hustlers last week.
Dave Williams of the Parksville Bald Eagles said players were caught off-guard in various states of undress at the time.
"At the end of the game, we're in the dressing room, we're changing and the guys are showering and all that,'' he said.
"A couple of minutes later, this woman bursts through the door, no I.D., no nothing.
"She came right in the room, looked around the whole dressing room and left. She looked around to see if there was any beer visible. She didn't see any and she left.''
Williams questioned what would have happened if a male inspector entered a dressing room of females under the same circumstances.
"If the shoe was on the other foot, there'd be hell to pay,'' he said. "We're supposed to take it with a grain of salt — no big deal.''
The provincial Liquor Control and Licensing Branch provided a totally contrasting account of the incident.
"Liquor inspectors are authorized under the law to enter specified areas to perform their duties, including any unlicensed areas of a liquor licensed establishment,'' read a statement furnished to the News Leader Pictorial.
"In this specific instance, the liquor inspector was following up on complaints about liquor consumption in the dressing room and had reasonable grounds to believe that liquor was being consumed within.
"The liquor inspector first sent a male staff member of the establishment into the dressing room and that staff member confirmed that beer was being consumed.
"The inspector proceeded to clearly announce, several times, that she would be entering the dressing room and entered accompanied by the male staff member.''
John Elzinga, manager of the Island Savings Centre, said it was brought to his attention the branch might be conducting liquor checks in the facility.
"To my understanding, they've done quite a significant amount of periodic checks in Nanaimo in the last six to eight months.
"I alerted some of the local teams this was potentially going to happen.''
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