In BC, the legal drinking age is 19; in Alberta, it’s 18. But in both Vancouver and Calgary, I’ve run across 21+ or 25+ clubs, and a friend of mine from Quebec City says they have those there, too.
How is this legal? Now, it’s not that I disagree with the idea, because these clubs are much more relaxed and fun. And I never had a problem getting into the 21+ clubs when I was 19, so they don’t really enforce it with girls as much. I’m just wondering how you can legally deny service to people who are old enough to be in your bar.
I don’t know what the laws in Canada are regarding age discrimination, but if they allow under 25/21 women and not men isn’t that sex discrimination? I don’t have a cite but didn’t an American state once try to have different drinking ages for males vs females?
Indeed there was, and it was a very important case in the history of sex discrimination jurisprudence in the United States.
In Craig v Boren, decided in 1976, the Supreme Court considered the constitutionality of an Oklahoma statute which allowed women aged 18-20 to buy 3.2% beer while not allowing males to buy the same beer until they turned 21. Prior to this case, the standard used by the Court (established in Reed v Reed) was rational basis, meaning that the State had to demonstrate that the differential treatment between sexes was “reasonable, not arbitrary,” and that it rested “upon some ground of difference having a fair and substantial relation to the object of the legislation, so that all persons similarly circumstanced will be treated alike” (language taken from a 1920 decision, Royster Guano v Virginia).
In striking down the Oklahoma law in Craig, SCOTUS established the standard of “intermediate scrutiny.” In the plurality opinion in Craig, Justice Brennan wrote that “classifications by gender must serve important governmental objectives and must be substantially related to achievement of those objectives.” He specifically excluded “administrative convenience” and “fostering ‘old’ notions of role typing” as important governmental objectives.
As for the OP’s question, I know little of Canadian law but in the US age discrimination laws tend to deal with older people, not younger. So long as the club owner is not otherwise illegally excluding people, s/he is free to set a minimum age above the drinking age to enter. If the rule is not equally enforced on the basis of sex then state laws against sex discrimination may come into play.
NOt trying to be confrontational here but how do you explain how some establishments will allow women to wear hats (baseball caps) but not men? (This one has always been a pet peve of mine.)
Not sure what establishments you’re referring to, but in terms of employment, courts have for the most part ruled that sex-based differences in dress code and appearance are legal. For example, companies can impose hair length restrictions on men that are shorter than for women, and can prevent men from wearing earrings where women are allowed to. Whether there is case law regarding differentials in dress code in public accommodation I don’t know.
It’s the same idea behind “ladies’ nights”, where women get in free, or pay less for drinks, or whatever. Sure, it seems patently fair, but it’s fairly obvious that the objective is to get more women customers, which most of the guys agree is Not A Bad Thing.
I’m assuming you mean “patently unfair.” Here in Madison there’s been at least one complaint filed regarding ladies’ night promotions, contending that offering free or cheaper drinks or free admission to women and not men was illegal. I seem to recall that the complaint was successful and that ladies’ night promotions were discontinued, but the bars I tend to frequent aren’t ones which tend to use women as bait for men anyway so maybe I just don’t hear about them. Not finding anything online that’s conclusive on the complaints.