Skip to main content

Third reading of Bill 60 - The Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Control Amendment Act

 On Thursday May 20, I spoke at third reading on Bill 60, The Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Control Amendment Act.  My comments (from Hansard) are below:

Bill 60–The Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Control Amendment Act (2)

Hon. Jon Gerrard (River Heights): I want to put a few comments and I want to address the situation of use of minors to go deliberately into establishments which are selling liquor or cannabis to purchase liquor, for example, and whether or not this is entrap­ment.

It is certainly duplicity in this sense that the young person who is going in to buy the liquor is, in this case, not going in because the young person wants the liquor, but because the young person has been asked to go in to see if they can try to buy the liquor.

So the young person is going in there with the sole purpose, not of buying liquor to drink, but the sole purpose of trying to get–identify people who will sell liquor to minors, who will break the law. And yes, it's true that this is important to identify people who are breaking the law, and it is true that it is important to stop people from selling to minors, but, at the same time, I still have questions about the use of minors in this circumstance.

      I think that the government should be looking at what the long-term impacts are of having minors go in to try and purchase liquor, not because they want the liquor, but because they want to catch somebody selling liquor to a minor so that that person can be fined or taken to court.

I think we need to be very, very careful with this. It certainly–it doesn't have the sort of, you know, ability to pass the normal smell test. I think that there must be better ways to do this than to have minors trying to do things which they're not really wanting to do; that is, to purchase the liquor to drink it.

That is certainly deceptive, and I don't really think it's a good idea to be training minors to be deceptive in this way. That, I guess, is something that we're going to find out because the government is going to pass this bill and proceed with it even though we on our side have some objections.

      So we won't support this legislation but we rather would like to watch very closely to see how this process works out and what impact it has on the minors who are being asked to do this, really, under false pretenses because they are not really trying to buy liquor to consume it, they are trying to buy liquor in order to catch somebody out.

      Thank you.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Being able to participate matters - Let’s build a more inclusive, accessible Manitoba

Too often, our homes, buildings, and outdoor spaces are designed without sufficient consideration given to how they will impact little people, those with large bodies, or those with disabilities.  Manitoba should become a leader in designing and building new structures so they’re comfortable and accessible to all.  Further, the province needs to do more to adapt our existing infrastructure, so that it meets everyone’s needs.   The design of our built environment makes daily living a challenge for too many.  A friend, who uses a wheelchair, must call ahead wherever she goes to ensure she can enter a restaurant, store, salon, etc. A young person in River Heights has a struggle each fall to make sure that with his cerebral palsy he is able to get the support he needs to do well in school.  A large-bodied man I know has been bedridden for five months because he lacks access to a usable lift or wheelchair.  Samantha Trubyk, President of the Little People ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Comparison between Manitoba and South Dakota shows dramatic impact of Physical Distancing

Manitoba implemented physical distancing measures in mid-March.  South Dakota has still not made physical distancing mandatory.   The result is a dramatic difference in the incidence of covid-19 viral infections between the two jurisdictions.   This graph shows the number of people with Covid-19 infections from March 27 to April 14.  Manitoba ( red line )  started leveling off about April 4 and has seen only a small increase in Covid-19 infections since then.   South Dakota ( blue line )   has seen a dramatic increase in Covid-19 infections since April 4.  Those who are skeptical of the impact of physical distancing in Manitoba should look at this graph! Data are from the Johns Hopkins daily tabulations
18 comments
Read more

Debating the importance of the french language, education in french and french services in Manitoba

Thursday, May 17, we had a debate on a resolution on french language education and french language services in the Manitoba.   The debate arose because the Pallister government has made major cutbacks in french language education.  In part these cuts have reduced the status and funding for   le Bureau de l'éducation française which is the division of the Department of Education which deals with education in french.   Several items are notable:  The Pallister Conservatives block a motion to have the normal full hour of debate.   Hon. Jon  Gerrard  (River Heights):  I have a question. Before I ask it, this is a pretty important subject and I'd like to have leave to make sure that we have a full hour of debate, and so the debate would go 'til about 12:15. Mr. Deputy Speaker:  Has there been leave to go to 12:15? An Honourable Member:  Agreed. An Honourable Member:  No. Mr. Deputy Speaker:  N...
6 comments
Read more