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Vote on liquor restrictions pondered Sahtu communities want say in Norman Wells liquor sales restrictions, says MLA; Chamber says that's not fair
Lyndsay Herman
Northern News Services
Published Friday, June 28, 2013
LLI GOLINE/NORMAN WELLS
The voice of business in Norman Wells says it won't be fair if Sahtu communities are given a say in setting restrictions at the town's liquor store.
Restrictions on personal liquor sales in Norman Wells were lifted Feb. 1, 2012. - NNSL file photo
 Click here to see the Norman Wells and District Chamber of Commerce letter and Sahtu MLA Norman Yakeleya's response.
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On June 6, Sahtu MLA Norman Yakeleya's private members' bill was given second reading in the legislative assembly.
The bill would allow all Sahtu communities to vote in a plebiscite deciding whether liquor sales should be restricted at the Norman Wells liquor store.
"I just feel that this was very extreme without consultation and knowledge base," said Chris Buist, president of the Norman Wells and District Chamber of Commerce. "It caught us unaware and off-guard."
Currently, only Norman Wells residents can vote in such a plebiscite, as they did in 2011 to have the restrictions removed.
On behalf of the chamber, Buist issued an open letter to Yakeleya on June 24 expressing his concerns with the bill. The letter states the chamber intends to contact territorial MLAs and request they vote against the bill in the next sitting of the legislative assembly.
Buist said the bill would unfairly target one Sahtu business and potentially set a bad precedent for government interfering with private businesses.
"It's individually targeting one business, not saying every business, just this one liquor store," he said.
The NWT Liquor Commission, which operates under the GNWT Department of Finance, contracts liquor store operations to private individuals, who are then paid a commission on sales. This is not the case for the two liquor stores in Yellowknife.
The Norman Wells Liquor Agency is the only liquor store in the Sahtu and when liquor restrictions were lifted last February, surrounding communities were affected, says Yakeleya.
"We certainly respect and acknowledge the chamber of commerce and their views on this bill," said Yakeleya. "They are certainly there to represent the business community. However, the liquor store in Norman Wells does impact the surrounding communities which is 70 per cent of the entire Sahtu population."
Norman Wells businesses aren't against helping address community concerns and would be happy to work with government, the RCMP, and other groups to find a better solution, said Buist.
He pointed to current restrictions on the number of hairspray bottles one person can buy at grocery stores, which were put into effect after RCMP spoke to store owners about the product's role in substance abuse problems.
"I think this is an extreme measure by the government to deal with a social issue ... but I think there may be better ways to deal with some of these social issues," said Buist.
Part of the issue is that Sahtu communities other than Norman Wells could order liquor from any liquor store while Norman Wells residents cannot since they have a store in their town, said Buist. As a result, Norman Wells residents would be unfairly held to the restrictions more strictly than the other communities.
A territory-wide change would take too long to solve a problem which needs immediate attention, said Yakeleya.
"The legislation is not a fix-all and it's not perfect," he said. "But we can't sit on our hands waiting for a silver bullet.
"As leaders, we must clear the obstacles and barriers that can hinder the wealth of the people of the Sahtu."
Yakeleya said the bill is now in the hands of the Standing Committee on Government Operations, which will hold public hearings before the next sitting of the legislative assembly.
"They will come back with suggestions and some amendments, find the middle ground," he said.
Buist said he'd like to hear more hard numbers so people can make decisions based on facts and not misinformation.
For instance, he'd like to know how much sales have increased at the Norman Wells Liquor Agency and how much they've decreased in Yellowknife and Inuvik.
His argument is that higher sales at the Norman Wells liquor store don't necessarily prove there is more alcohol being consumed in the Sahtu, it could only mean more people are purchasing liquor closer to home.
The NWT Liquor Commission was finalizing their 2012-2013 annual report last week and the results will be released to the public within a few months.
- Visit nnsl.com to view letters between the Norman Wells Chamber of Commerce and Norman Yakeleya.
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