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In about six weeks’ time, late-night liquor store runs will be a thing of the past in Prince Albert.
Mayor Greg Dionne said the city’s executive committee has voted to reduce the hours of liquor stores in the city. The decision was affirmed through a unanimous vote on Monday, which will see a bylaw brought forward to council that will limit liquor store hours, allowing sales only between 10 a.m. and 11 p.m.
“We’d been looking at it for some time,” Dionne said to Evan Bray on Wednesday. “It is a problem.”
The mayor pointed to the city’s persistent issues around domestic violence and property crime, and said more than half of the city’s arrests involve alcohol.
Dionne said council decided to take a stand and plans to monitor the change over the next year, alongside the Prince Albert Police Service, to see what effect it has.
The Prince Albert mayor said he’s hopeful the change will produce positive results, mentioning the success seen in La Ronge where a similar bylaw has been implemented. He said that community has seen reduced crime and fewer calls to RCMP after midnight.
Prince Albert police responded to more than 2,400 calls strictly related to intoxication within a nine-month period, Bray noted during his conversation with Dionne, adding up to more than 1,600 arrests.
“It’s well worth it,” Dionne told Bray, calling the situation a “crisis.”
Dionne said alcohol has been causing issues in the city for quite some time.
“It’s time that we have to do something. It’s getting out of hand,” Dionne said.
The new bylaw won’t come into effect immediately. The executive committee’s report must first be forwarded to council for approval before the bylaw goes through its required three readings.
Dionne estimated it will take about six weeks for the bylaw to take effect, but he said the change will almost certainly move forward as the entire council is part of the executive committee due to the smaller size of the city.
Changing times
Dionne said the change was necessary because of the city’s high crime rates, which he called “scary,” especially considering Prince Albert’s smaller population.
The response from the business community has been split “60:40,” the mayor said.
The hours of stores selling alcohol in the community vary, with some only opening their doors at 8 p.m. The bylaw change would force those operators to cut their hours drastically, should they not wish to open sooner, and would limit the business their stores see from “impulse buyers.”
Dionne said that reasoning helped the council make its decision.
“(Impulse buyers) are the ones that we deal with,” he told Bray. “We’re not talking about the person that’s having a Christmas party at their house.
“It just compounds the problem.”
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Similar rules surrounding liquor sale hours are in place in Toronto, where residents can only purchase alcohol between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m., Dionne explained. With four million people in Toronto, compared to just 40,000 in Prince Albert, Dionne said the rule should be manageable, especially as stores will still be allowed to operate seven days a week.
He compared the hours of operation to the limited hours of cannabis stores and grocery stores.
“We all know when to go get groceries because we know the hours of the grocery store,” he said.
“I don’t understand why, at 2:00 in the morning, people have to go out and buy more booze.”
One further step that the mayor said council might take was shared exclusively on The Evan Bray Show on Wednesday. Dionne told Bray that the executive committee plans to meet again to discuss certain days where liquor stores would be required to close, like holidays.
Presently, he explained, liquor stores are allowed to operate 365 days a year, which he said takes a toll on both police and the community.
“Our police force and our community don’t get a rest,” he said.
The city also won’t be designating any park spaces where alcohol can be consumed, even though the provincial government has made it possible for municipalities to do so.
“We are trying to find solutions, not add to the problem,” Dionne said.
Looking to the future
Dionne said he wants to see more provincial action and funding directed towards rehabilitation centres for both alcohol and drug addicts.
“I really support rehab because I want to cure them,” the mayor said. “Giving them safer places to go and do their drugs doesn’t solve the problem.”
Dionne said addiction is a disease that needs to be addressed, which requires help from the provincial government.
On a more positive note, Dionne touched on the city’s progress over the past year. A new police chief has been established in Prince Albert, he said, city contract negotiations have been settled and the city is now embarking on construction projects adding up to a billion dollars.
While crime and addictions remain the mayor’s first priority, he said his second is fostering growth in the form of a new hospital, two new rinks and a pool under construction. New apartments and Prince Albert’s forestry industries are also growing, he shared.
The mayor joked that the city’s council might be an odd group, but he complimented that team for moving the city ahead, especially in terms of economic growth.
“That’s all that counts,” Dionne said.