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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A $13 bottle of liquor ended up costing William Buggins a $172 ticket roughly six weeks ago when he was found by RCMP with the opened bottle on Franklin Avenue.

"I had an open bottle near the post office. They spilled the bottle and gave me a ticket," said Buggins.

William Buggins stands on 50 Street where many of Yellowknife's homeless are known to hang out. Buggins said, like many people living on the streets, he was recently issued a ticket by RCMP for having an open bottle of alcohol in a public place. - Cara Loverock/NNSL Photo

He said many of the homeless in Yellowknife are being targeted by police and issued tickets when they're caught with open alcohol in public places.

Buggins said he was able to pay his ticket, which ended up costing him $185 after the matter was addressed in court. He said he was struggling with alcoholism at the time the ticket was issued.

"I paid it myself. It's not easy," said Buggins, explaining that he now has a job and is getting his life together.

He said other people on the street struggling with addictions have no way to pay the expensive tickets. "A lot of people are unemployed," said Buggins. "They can't afford it, they live on the street ... some of these people have been on the street for 20 or 30 years."

He said issuing tickets to homeless people does nothing to help rehabilitate those suffering from addiction.

"It doesn't make sense," he said.

RCMP Const. Roxanne Dreilich said ticketing those found with open alcohol is not a new practice. "We have issued them in the past," she said, adding that in the summer the RCMP has a foot patrol program which puts more officers on the streets and therefore it is more likely offenders will be caught. She also said the foot patrol program allows police to patrol areas they cannot get to by vehicle, so drinking that goes on in more secluded places, like public parks, will more likely be caught.

Lydia Bardak, city councillor and co-ordinator of community justice with the John Howard Society, said the tickets may be an attempt to clean up the streets, but the fines do nothing to help those with a serious addiction.

"What can often happen, especially when you've got people who are struggling with addiction and homelessness, remembering a court date isn't always easy," she said.

Those who miss court could have a warrant issued for their arrest and may be prohibited from consuming alcohol and other intoxicants, which most likely won't work for an addict, Bardak said. Further legal problems, like breach of probation, can arise that backlog the court system, she added.

"The court system isn't a good way to deal with addictions," said Bardak.