Bars across Saskatchewan may be keeping a close watch on how many alcoholic drinks they serve to their customers.

This, comes after Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) announced Thursday it would be suing two Saskatoon bars, claiming they overserved a woman who killed four people while driving drunk.

Local restaurants and lounges in Saskatoon like Congress Beer House keep busy most Friday nights. Bartender Alex Kyle says he serves up a couple hundred alcoholic drinks each day and is always watching to make sure his patrons are coherent. “You definitely have a higher responsibility in terms of making sure that they’re getting home safe,” he said.

Kyle says he sometimes has to cut off customers who have a few too many cold ones. “It’s going to be waters, maybe a coffee for them, but we never let them drive, we always want to make sure that they have a safe ride home or we’re calling a cab for them just to make sure that they are responsible.”

CEO of Saskatchewan’s Hotel & Hospitality Association, Jim Bence, says other bars, including those in rural areas, may now be on a higher alert to prevent their customers from driving impaired. “It will be interesting to see how this sets the tone for the operators because they really are going to have to monitor the same way that anybody else would and so it will be no different than if you were in a little town in Saskatchewan or in the bigger centres, the rules still apply.”

The training required for serving alcohol has in fact gotten a lot stricter in recent times. The ‘Serve It Right’ Saskatchewan course is mandatory for all new bar workers across the province, but it will be mandatory for anyone selling alcohol come June 30th, 2018.

Director of Saskatchewan’s Tourism Education Council, Carol Lumb, helped launch the $30 course for all bar workers across the province. She says the program – available online or through organized workshops – helps outline how to properly check for ID and how to tell if someone is intoxicated. “Really we’re very concerned about the safety of the general public and those who in fact are going to be going to establishments and buying liquor from somewhere, but also the servers and the establishments themselves, we want everyone to do that safely.

SGI announced it is filing a statement of claim for in Saskatoon’s Court of Queen’s Bench against Industrial Kitchen & Bar and Crackers Licensed Cocktail and Dining Room. The government insurer is suing for a maximum amount of $95,000.

Those bars allegedly overserved Catherine McKay who pleaded guilty to four counts of impaired driving causing death in the January 2016 collision that killed parents Jordan and Chanda Van de Vorst, and their two young children, Kamryn and Miguire. McKay was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Court heard McKay’s blood-alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit at the time of the fatal crash.