The City of Kenora will not allow people to bring their own alcohol to municipally-sanctioned public events, with Mayor Andrew Poirier saying the option does not align with the city’s efforts to address public intoxication.
The provincial government recently gave municipalities the authority to opt into a bring-your-own-beverage (BYOB) program for designated public events, leaving the decision up to local councils.
Kenora, like some other municipalities, has chosen not to participate.
“We just absolutely don’t support it,” Poirier recently told the Miner and News. “We feel that it doesn’t align with what we’re trying to accomplish in the downtown core, and we don’t need to add to the issues that we have.”
Poirier said council supports giving municipalities the ability to make their own decisions but felt allowing people to bring alcohol to public events was not the right fit for Kenora.
He said the city continues to deal with public intoxication in the downtown core and believes expanding opportunities for alcohol consumption at public events could create additional challenges.
The mayor also once again expressed concerns about the province’s decision to expand alcohol sales to grocery stores, convenience stores and other retailers, which he has since identified as an irritant that complicates Kenora’s broader social issues.
While he said he was once supportive of making alcohol more accessible for consumers, he believes municipalities should have been given greater authority to regulate the implementation of those changes locally.
“We should have been allowed to, at least at the municipal level, indicate that those sales can’t start until the time that, say, the LCBO and the Beer Store are selling it,” he said.
Instead, Poirier said municipalities were not given the legislative tools to regulate local sales hours or tailor the changes to meet community needs.
Notably, a notice of motion brought forward by Coun. Lindsay Koch when the legislation was first implemented, aimed at curtailing expanded alcohol sales in town, was shot down by the rest of her council colleagues.
Poirier said the city has since experienced issues since the changes were introduced, including an increased amount of people drinking in public, and has asked the province to review the legislation.
“We’re not the only municipality that’s having issues with it,” Poirier said. “I’ve talked to colleagues in municipalities all over the province, and some of them are having negative consequences.”
Poirier said he believes greater alcohol availability has contributed to more incidents requiring a police response, effectively increasing the already-high policing costs for the community.
For now, Poirier said council believes opting out of Ontario’s BYOB program is consistent with its broader approach to addressing public safety concerns in the community.
