TUKTOYAKTUK - Tuktoyaktuk's liquor restrictions, introduced on March 1, are working just as the mayor and hamlet council hoped.

Merven Gruben: "The bottom line is it's working," mayor says of restrictions. - NNSL file photo

"The system is working and we're happy with it," said Mayor Merven Gruben, pointing out that calls to police for alcohol-related incidents have decreased noticeably compared to last year. Calls for service for such incidents in March this year, the first month of the restrictions, were 50 per cent less than in March last year, he said, quoting RCMP figures provided to hamlet council. The month of July experienced an even greater decrease compared to 2009, he said, amounting to 70 per cent.

"So something is working," said Gruben. A primary goal of the restrictions was to stop youths from consuming alcohol, he said, and this appears to be paying off.

"The youth centre co-ordinator says he's seeing a lot more kids out there, and a lot of the kids are turning away from smoking and drinking now.," the mayor told News/North.

"We've got a few bad apples and idiots who keep wanting this stuff to happen, but at least we're keeping the booze off kids' hands. If these idiots want to pay $200 a bottle, go for it. But you've got to at least keep it out of the hands of the kids."

The restrictions, which were passed in a hamlet plebiscite in December, limit the amount of wine, beer and spirits travellers are allowed to bring into the community. The hamlet bylaw specifies seven combinations of the three types of drink allowed per person entering the community.

Tuk RCMP have so far arrested and charged two individuals under the act in separate incidents – both of them at the hamlet's airport on flights from Inuvik – in the past month. Charges carry a maximum fine of $500 per violation.

The bylaw is enforced by the RCMP, who are relying on tips – anonymous or not – alerting them about possible bootleggers bringing illegal amounts of liquor into the community.

"We have to rely on information that is provided to us," said Sgt. Calvin Roberts, detachment commander for Tuktoyaktuk, pointing out that police must have grounds for search and seizure before they act.

"We can't just go out there and do blanket check on everybody," Roberts said. Searches and arrests are based "on information we receive from specific individuals, and that's the way it will be continued."

The sergeant confirmed the restrictions have had the desired effect. Since they came into place, overall calls for service for alcohol-related incidents have gone down by 30 per cent, he said.

"Before then, people could bring in as much as they wanted and there was nothing we could do about it," said Roberts.

RCMP in consultation with the hamlet did not did not lay charges on bylaw violators at first. A grace period was offered in the first month, said Roberts, where violators were informed of the new regulation and limits. Illegal quantities were seized and poured out "until the end of the ice road season," the detachment commander said.

Mayor Gruben confirmed hamlet council is considering how passengers could be checked systematically at the airport.

Asked about options for airport screening, Karen King, regional airport manager in Inuvik, said this is a municipal issue that airport operators are not mandated to deal with.

Airport operators, she said, "are federally regulated, and the liquor restrictions in Tuk are not federal regulations that we are involved with."

All the same, the mayor said council is happy with the results of the restriction so far.

"The bottom line is it's working," said Gruben. "Everybody knows what they're not supposed to bring.

"It's a good thing that's happening, all for the betterment of the community."

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.