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Yukon News
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
End the liquor monopoly by Graham Lang
SECOND THOUGHTS
I
t’s time that the Yukon government got out of the liquor business. That’s not because the individuals working at the liquor corporation aren’t doing a good job, but rather because we can use other levels of government and the marketplace to more efficiently achieve the goals of the monopoly. The Yukon government, through the liquor corporation, has enjoyed a monopoly on the sale of alcohol throughout the territory as long as I have been alive. The monopoly, by virtue of a lack of competition and the overhead connected to the Crown corporation, results in higher prices for alcohol throughout Yukon. This is before we include the artificial 15 per cent increase in prices at off-sales once the sole liquor store in Whitehorse closes. Further, the liquor corporation, an unelected body, is tasked with regulating the sale of alcohol, meaning that the issuance and enforcement of liquor licences is carried out by a body that is accountable only to the courts, rather than the democratically elected legislature. As citizens we should expect some return for the resulting higher prices and democraticdisconnect, meaning the monopoly should serve some public purpose. The purpose of the monopoly must be to reduce the harm associated with the use of alcohol throughout the terri-
Ian Stewart/Yukon News
tory. The question is, can the specific manner in which the liquor corporation pursues that policy be reproduced more efficiently (read cheaper) by the marketplace or other levels of government without sacrificing safety? If so, then I would say the monopoly must end. The liquor corp. currently engages in three broad activities connected to liquor: the direct sale of liquor, advertisement concerning safe use of liquor and the issuance and enforcement of third-party liquor licences. These activities are designed to, respectively, raise money for the Yukon government to deal with social harm stemming from liquor, provide information to the public to hopefully prevent future harm and to regulate sales of alcohol to achieve reduction in harm. I would suggest that the above three broad policy goals can be met without the liquor corp. by, firstly, privatizing liquor
or Old Crow have to come to the Yukon government, cap in hand, to request that their communities be dry communities? Further, why should Whitehorse care whether Dawson City wants to keep its bars open until 4 a.m. all summer? Leave these decisions to the citizens of the communities – it will lead to a more transparent system of liquor regulation. The municipalities will be able to raise funds through setting liquor licence fees. The Yukon government will still be in the regulation game when it comes to broad control of marketing and safety surrounding the sale of liquor, much like the control of cigarettes, but the day-to-day regulation and inspection of establishments can be left to the municipalities. As a bonus, the downloading of regulation to the municipalities will also harness further economic efficiencies in that
LETTERS
The wind blows hard in winter’s cold I would like to thank Chuck Tobin of the Star and Jacqueline Ronson of the Yukon News for their coverage of the Yukon Energy LNG hearing last week. This is an important issue for all Yukoners and the good newspaper coverage was much appreciated. In one article the Chuck recalls the cold windless day of January 29, 2006 when one of the power cables at the Aishihik power plant failed and the entire grid went down and we relied on lot of back-up diesel power for two days, and more than normal for a few months afterwards until permanent repairs were completed. Those of us who were here at the time would recall the event too. What is interesting to note about this situation is this, although it generally is not windy in Whitehorse when the weather is very cold, the wind generally is blowing at the higher altitudes like Haeckel Hill, or Mt. Sumanik, or Ferry Hill (Tehcho)
and instituting a liquor tax, secondly, by tasking the alcohol and drug services branch (which already exists) with the advertisement and promotion side of prevention and, thirdly, by downloading the day-to-day regulation and licensing of establishments to the municipalities. First, by privatizing sale and instituting a liquor tax we can raise the same amount of revenue as today less the overhead of the liquor corp. With or without the monopoly, people will purchase alcohol. That means that, depending on where the tax rate is set, we can easily determine the rate required to raise an appropriate amount to offset the profits lost from the wind-up of the liquor corp. Secondly, by downloading responsibility of regulation and issuance of liquor licences to the municipalities we democratize the process, leaving decisions on liquor to the affected communities. Why should Pelly Crossing
in the cold of winter more often than not. Haeckel Hill has two test wind turbines now and Mt. Sumanik and Ferry Hill could have wind farms built on them. From January 29 to 31, 2006 when it was cold and we had the power emergency with the Aishihik power plant shut down, the wind was blowing steadily up there according to Environment Canada’s weather balloon data. During this critical period the wind speed at the altitude of Haeckel Hill and Mt. Sumanik ranged from 8.7 to 12 meters per second (m/s). This means that a 20-megawatt wind farm would have been producing from 8 to 19 MW (based on Enercon E82 2MW wind turbines) during this crisis period. Just imagine how much diesel that would have saved us!
Analyzing the wind speeds from Environment Canada’s weather balloon data for the 13-year period from 2000 to 2012 yields the following interesting characteristics about a 20 MW wind farm should there have been one there: Annual average output 5.6 MW (wind about 7.2 m/s); When -30 C or colder in Whitehorse, average output 6.2 MW (7.5 m/s); October to May average output 7.1 MW (7.9 m/s); December to March average output 8.6 MW (8.5 m/s); and June through August average output 2.5 MW (5.3 m/s). It is true that some of this will be lost due to icing and we cannot turn the wind on and off when as we want it or need it, but it can reliably provide a lot of energy in the winter each and every year when we most
need it. And it provides much less in summer when we hardly need it. Best of all, like water for hydro, the wind is free. Wind energy as part of our winter energy supply is cost effective and it can and should be part of our renewable energy supply. John Maissan Whitehorse
Don’t get hooked on fracked gas We recently attended the public input session of the Yukon Utilities Board regarding the liquefied natural gas proposal of Yukon Energy. We did not speak but had discussed the project for a number of months. The Ta’an Kwach’an Council recently passed a resolution to ban hydraulic fracking on their traditional
instead of having liquor inspectors and municipal bylaw officers both inspecting businesses in town, we would just have municipal bylaw officers. Remember that we currently have to transport Whitehorse-based liquor inspectors as far as Eagle Plains, which is not the most efficient use of resources. Having individuals who live in the area and who are already tasked with reviewing municipal bylaws inspecting liquor establishments makes more sense. Lastly, the download of all liquor related issues to alcohol and drug services will create a one-stop-shop for issues stemming from the use of alcohol in the territory. For example, both the liquor corp. and the alcohol and drug services are currently concerned with advertising to prevent harm stemming from use of alcohol. Would it not make more sense to have one government agency tasked with creating one global policy, rather than the current fragmented approach? Taking the above three steps will place licensing in the hands of the affected communities, centralize preventative steps with one government department and reduce prices of alcohol, all without reducing funds flowing to government or sacrificing safety. All that occurs is we remove the middleman from the equation, being the liquor corp. Government and the marketplace can engage in a bit of synergy here, with government doing what it does best, which is tax harmful products and provide services for those in need, while the marketplace doing what it does best, which is sell things. By letting each sector focus on its strength the system as a whole will certainly come out ahead. Graham Lang is a Whitehorse lawyer and long-time Yukoner.
territory. We honour them and their added decision not to invest in this Yukon Energy project. This project will inevitably lead to using “fracked” gas. This is the moral and ethical decision not to participate in this destructive industry. We, as parents, grandparents, and great grandparents of fourteen Kwanlin Citizens, ask the Kwanlin Dun Council to reconsider their involvement and potential investment in this project. At the most recent General Assembly of Kwanlin Dun, a resolution was passed that banned fracking on Kwanlin Dun traditional territory. If fracking is not good for us and the land, it is not good for any other people and their lands. We feel this is a poor investment of the financial inheritance of land claims beneficiaries and feeds a hypocrisy that is unwise and unhealthy for the well-being of future generations. Ann Smith and Brian Walker Whitehorse