By Derek Cornet

La Ronge liquor bylaw passes with enforcement to begin New Year’s Day

Dec 13, 2018 | 11:00 AM

Not one person from the public who attended a regular council meeting Wednesday in La Ronge spoke negatively about the proposed liquor and cannabis bylaw, which will go into effect New Year’s Day.

Before council made the second and third readings last night, residents and businessowners addressed council one at a time and expressed their support for the bylaw. Even before the meeting began, extra chairs needed to be brought in, but some latecomers who wanted to observe had to sit on the floor. It was the first time council had witnessed such a large attendance at a regular meeting, and Counc. Matt Klassen said it goes to show how many people support limiting the sale, distribution and consumption of cannabis and alchohol in La Ronge.

“That’s by far the most amount of people we’ve ever seen in our gallery,” he said. “I think it’s a big show of how much concern people have for the issues this community faces and how much do support these initiatives for change.”

In a 4-3 vote, the bylaw to limit the hours of operation for businesses which sell alcohol and cannabis passed. Those who voted in favour of it included Deputy-Mayor Hugh Watt, Klassen and fellow councillors Jordan McPhail and Rex McPhail. Mayor Ron Woytowich, along with councillors Dallas Everest and Glen Watchel voted against the bylaw.

Klassen noted he’s quite proud to be part of the push to reduce operating hours, adding he thinks it will lead to positive outcomes for residents. He mentioned it will be a big step for everyone involved and it’s important to remember one of the biggest reasons for the change is to try make the future brighter for the town’s young people.

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“With passing this bylaw, I think La Ronge has shown a very huge commitment to this plan and its residents,” Klassen said. “Moving forward, we need to hold ourselves accountable in the promises we made to measure the progress and the outcomes, whether they are positive or negative, and we will have to make changes as we go forward once those progresses are measured.”

With the bylaw now passed, Klassen called on the provincial government to step up and follow through with some commitments they’ve made. He wants to see continued support for the Scattered Site Outreach Program, assistance in enforcing the bylaw when need be, provide funding for enhanced policing and help fund local children’s programs in sports, culture and arts.

Liquor and cannabis stores will only be able to operate between the hours of 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. from Monday to Saturday, while hours are reduced further to 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays and statutory holidays. Lounges, taverns and special-use facilities are bound by the same rules, but can serve alcohol as late as 1 a.m. from Monday to Saturday. An exception for New Year’s Day allows bars to serve alcohol until 1:30 a.m. following New Year’s Eve.

derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno