Fort Frances Town Council has voted unanimously against allowing municipal “BYOB” events to which residents would be able to legally bring and consume their own alcoholic beverages.
The decision was sparked by a move by the Ontario government, which, as of spring 2026, began allowing municipalities to decide whether they’d permit BYOB events to “help support local tourism and drive economic growth,” according to a news release from the Attorney General.
Organizers holding BYOB events in municipalities that have passed a bylaw to authorize them would then have to acquire “bring-your-own” permits through the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
“This is something that’s very high on the agenda for the Northwestern Health Unit,” Coun. Wendy Brunetta said. “Our little section of the province here has the highest rate of alcohol-related visits to the E.R. in the Kenora-Rainy River Districts, so I think it’s something that we advocate strongly that the BYOB events not be supported by the municipality.
Mayor Andrew Hallikas echoed Brunetta’s concerns.
“This is a huge issue, particularly in northwestern Ontario,” he said. “Deaths due to alcohol are six times higher than the provincial average.”
Hallikas also noted the significantly higher counts of hospitalizations, emergency room visits and impaired driving occurrences in northwestern Ontario compared to the rest of the province.
Permitting people to bring their own alcohol to events would also pose liability issues in case incidents actually occur. Vendors are required not to overserve alcohol and can face penalties for doing so; allowing people to essentially serve themselves removes this barrier to preventing alcohol-related injuries.
“Currently, liability rests on the servers, and they have to take training, and so if they overserve and something drastic happens, they could be held liable,” Coun. Steve Maki said. “I don’t know how this would work out. You bring your own jug in, somebody’s got to be held liable, and there’s no recourse.”
With the council deciding against bringing a BYOB bylaw into effect, these events will not be hitting Fort Frances streets unless a future council decides to revisit the topic.
Hallett relocation
The Hallett will remain where it is on the Front Street waterfront for the time being after no bids were received by the town to complete the restoration and relocation of the historic tugboat back into the Rainy River.
Fort Frances relocated the Hallett because severe flooding in 2022 damaged its concrete berth, causing the tugboat to float and risk breaking free from its cribs, forcing the town to remove it for safety.
A decision was made by council last December to find a contractor that would assess and repair the existing cribs in the river, if necessary, refinish the exterior of the tugboat’s hull and lift it back onto the cribs. A budget of $528,000 was allocated for the project. The request for proposals to find a contractor closed on June 9, with no bids placed.
Although it would be ideal to find a contractor who could take on the entire scope of work, that would be difficult to find, Environmental Superintendent Craig Miller said.
“Going out to receive a quotation from various suppliers, breaking down into these finer components, I have more flexibility to cast a broader net,” he said. “I can reach out to engineering firms directly, I can reach out to people who are capable of doing the painting directly, concrete work directly, things like that.”
As of now, the work will go back to tender, but allowing for different specialized contractors to complete different components of the work independently, instead of relying on a sole bidder for the entire project.
Miller also said that if no bids are received to lift the boat back into the river, the town can potentially look to hire a crane operating service to complete the job.
