Transit riders in Greater Victoria will not be allowed to carry any alcohol on board buses this Canada Day, according to the Victoria Regional Transit Commission, but a civil liberties group say the new rule is unfair.

GVTC spokeswoman Joanna Morton said riders suspected of violating the rule will be asked to open their bags for inspection, and if they refuse, they will not be allowed to board a bus.

"We're not going to be asking every single person who boards the bus. If we hear clanking of bottles in their backpacks, that would give us reason to ask them to demonstrate their compliance," said Morton on Tuesday.

The ban applies to both opened and unopened liquor containers, but no person will be required to submit to a search if they choose not to board the bus, said officials.

Previous searches ruled illegal

The ban comes after past Canada Day celebrations in Victoria were marred by rowdy drunks who damaged buses and assaulted those on board.

On Canada Day in 2007, police officers boarded buses to conduct random searches of riders' bags and seized unopened bottles of alcohol from those they believed were heading to the celebrations downtown.

But a report by the RCMP's public complaints commissioner later concluded it was not illegal to carry unopened liquor on a bus and those searches were illegal unless the officers had reason to believe some law was being broken.

Micheal Vonn, a policy director with the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, believes the transit commission is trying a new tactic this year to get around the law by demanding riders submit to the searches before boarding.

"What we see is indeed a renewed attempt to do the wrong thing in some less egregious way," said Vonn.

Protecting the public

But Morton insists the ban is legal and necessary to protect the public.

"So long as the rule is reasonable and promotes a safer transit environment, then BC Transit is within the limits," said Morton.

But the BCCLA disagrees, and is considering a legal challenge to the total alcohol ban, Vonn said.

"What we see here is a justification for what are illegal searches. To attempt to heighten this to the level of a security threat is absurd," he said.

The transit commission is being backed up by Victoria-area police, who say they will assist in searches and seizures.

"In any large-scale public event, we are constantly focused on public safety, that is balancing the rights of individuals with the safety of those attending," said Victoria police Chief Jamie Graham in a statement released on Tuesday.