Two youth used to transport alcohol
Mother of one says rather than charges, adult should work with community on alcohol education and awareness
Elaine Anselmi
Northern News Services
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
KAHBAMIUE/COLVILLE LAKE
Two youth have been targeted by an adult to transport alcohol into Colville Lake and the mother of one involved says it is an example of the need for more support for youth in the community.
Two youth were caught separately transporting 19 760-millilitre bottles and 48 375-millilitre bottles of vodka in total to Colville Lake. - photo courtesy of the RCMP
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"They need to set up something that would turn kids away from alcohol - counseling or sports - something to give them something else to do," the woman, who asked not to be named, told News/North.
"There are no counsellors in Colville Lake. If a kid is having problems they just keep that problem with them, there's no way for them to deal with it or someone to talk to about it."
No charges have been laid in the case, RCMP Const. Elenore Sturko said, and the investigation is ongoing with some travel involved taking a couple of weeks. Supplying alcohol to youth is in contravention of the Northwest Territories Liquor Act and carries a fine of $575.
The youth involved in the case were aged 15 and 17, Sturko said, and she pointed out that it is their involvement that makes this case unique.
"Colville Lake is not a restricted or prohibited community," she said.
"It's not that (the alcohol) was going to Colville, it's that it was given to kids."
The youth were intercepted by police on different days, July 28 and 31, at the Norman Wells airport en route to Colville Lake. The first teen was transporting 13 760-millilitre bottles of vodka. The second had six 760-millilitre and 48 375-millilitre bottles of vodka.
Alcohol smuggling is not uncommon in the territory, Sturko said, though this is the first time in her year as media liaison that the police have publicized a case involving youth.
"We've seen in the past elders used in communities that alcohol is prohibited to bring alcohol in their baggage on flights," she said.
"People have to be aware of what it is that they're bringing with them."
In this case, the youth were both given a warning, Sturko said, and advised that if they're ever asked to transport alcohol they should refuse and report the person immediately.
"If this was something habitual and we were constantly catching them, it might be a different story," Sturko said.
"We were able to review the totality of the circumstance and decide the most appropriate course of action in this case was to give warning to the children, and it's truly the adult that's at fault."
Though the investigation is ongoing, the teen's mother said she doesn't hope to see the adult involved charged, but rather contribute to alcohol avoidance in the community.
"I think they should work with youth to maybe see why youth shouldn't be around booze . and get them to go on better trails," she said.
"Charging whoever is not going to do any good, they'll just get charged and it's no big deal. If they ended up working with youth maybe they'll want to better their life as well."
Pointing out that there are existing programs to steer youth away from alcohol, Sturko said the incident does highlight the need for further efforts to promote positive behaviour.
"Hopefully getting the education and word out we can prevent using youth to transport alcohol," Sturko said.
"The thing is that alcohol remains an issue, it contributes to offenses and problems we have in the territory and we need to encourage, especially our youth, to follow a healthy lifestyle and encourage lawful lifestyles.
"We should be giving them sporting equipment, not bottles of booze."
