TEMISKAMING SHORES - Temiskaming Shores’ council wants to dry up alcohol sales and called upon the province to tighten restrictions. The council passed a motion to that effect on Sept. 17 and has forwarded the motion to all municipalities for support.
Mattawa’s council chose to accept the letter but did not feel the need to support the motion.
“It’s a touchy subject,” Coun. Mathew Gardiner said, adding he didn’t agree “with the monopoly that the Beer Store has held over Ontario residents.” He also “enjoys the convenience” of having more locations to purchase alcohol, and didn’t feel supporting Temiskaming Shores’ motion was necessary.
Temiskaming Shores’ motion requested “the Government of Ontario reverse their decision to allow alcohol to be sold in more locations.” If not a full-out reversal, the municipality suggested the province permit municipalities to opt out of retail alcohol expansion.
The motion also wants the province to grant municipalities power to “use zoning to determine where new alcohol retail locations are acceptable,” and to ban the sale of booze at gas stations. Temiskaming Shores also called to ban alcohol sales within 150 meters of schools, daycares, or substance use facilities.
The municipality also called on the province to add health warnings to bottles and cans and dedicate a portion of alcohol revenue to addressing alcohol-related harms. Finally, the motion asked the province to develop a “comprehensive provincial alcohol strategy, in partnership with municipalities, that prioritizes health and safety and considers the costs associated with alcohol consumption.”
The motion was too far-reaching for Mattawa’s council to swallow, as the new model allows more retailers to sell alcohol, “and I like to see other businesses have an opportunity to compete in that market,” Gardiner said.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
