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6TuesdayNovember52013TURNOFFTHENOISETURNONTHESILENCENOVEMBER111100A.M.REMEMBERwww.legion.cawww.abnwtlegion.comTheRoyalCanadianLegionBranch2392SILENCEMINUTESSERVICESSTARTINGAT1030A.M.ATTHEFORTSMITHRECCENTRE.THELEGIONWILLBEMARCHINGTOTHECENOTAPHTOLAYAWREATH.ANOPENHOUSEWILLFOLLOWATTHELEGION.ALLAREWELCOMETOMARCH.MLAsvotetogiveSahtuavoiceonliquorsalesAmendmentstoLiquorActinSahturegioncarriedinlegislatureHealthWellnessAddictionsByMEAGANWOHLBERGResidentsintheSahtucom-munitiesofTulitaDelineFortGoodHopeandColvilleLakeweregrantedtheopportunitytohaveasayinwhethertheywantliquorsalerestrictionsre-instatedinNormanWellsfol-lowingthesuccessfulpassingofBill24theActtoAmendtheLiquorActlastweekinthelegislature.Despitecabinetopposi-tionthebillintroducedbySahtuMLANormanYake-leyareceivedvocalsup-portfromallbutonereg-ularMLAandpassedlastThursday.ThebilldoesnotguaranteethereturnofrestrictionsbutinsteadallowsallresidentsoftheSahtuinthedecision-makingprocesstodeterminewhetherornotthereshouldbelimitsonalcoholsalesattheliquorstoreinNormanWellswhichsuppliesmuchoftheregionwithalcohol.ThecommunityofNor-manWellsvotedoverayearagotolifttherestrictionsonliquorsales.Thoseinfavourofremovingthelimitswonbyaslimmajorityof113to101.Residentsofsurround-ingcommunities-inwhichliquorrestrictionsexist-werenoteligibletovote.Sincethensalesofalltypesofliquorincreasedwithhardalcoholshowingthemostnotableriseinsalesupby46percentin2012.LocalRCMPreportedthatin2012assault-relatedcallsincreasedby50percentinTulitaand133percentinColvilleLake.FortGoodHopewhichhasapopulationof559sawover600alcohol-relatedincidents.RCMPinTulitaFortGoodHopeandDelinerespondedtoanav-erageof117morealcohol-relatedcallsin2012thanthepreviousyear.ItisbelievedthemajorityofalcoholbeingbootleggedintheSahtucomesfromNor-manWellsthoughsomeispurchasedinYellowknifeandInuvik.Approximately30percentoftheSahtupopulationlivesinNormanWellsbut100percentofthepopulationhastolivewiththeresultsofthedecisiontoremovetheliquorrestrictionsYakeleyasaid.Wedonthavethetreat-mentprogramsandservicesintheregiontohelppeopledealwithaddictions.Wedonthaveenoughpoliceresourcestoenforcerestrictionsinothercommunities.WearelimitedinwhatwecandobythesearchandseizureprovisionsundertheCharterofRightsandFreedoms.Limitinghowmuchalcoholpeoplecanbuyatthepointofpurchaseisoneofthefewreallyeffectivetoolswehave.ThoughoneMLARob-ertBouchardofHayRiverNorthopposedthebillonthebasisthathedidnotthinkitwouldeffectivelystopbootleggingbutasperiodsofprohibitionhavehistori-callydemonstratedactuallypromoteillegalliquorsalesallotherMLAsspokepas-sionatelyinfavouroftheSahtu-specicamendmentstotheLiquorAct.Whenwelookatthingslikeself-governmentagreementsforcommunitiesorforregionsorforgroupswelookatgiv-ingthemcontroloverissuespotentiallylikethissoifthislegislationbeingenactedgivesthepeopleoftheSahtuthatauthoritytocontrolthissub-stancewithintheirregionitgivesthemmorecontrolmoreauthorityIthinkitsagoodthingsaidHayRiverMLAJaneGroenewegen.IllsupportanymotionoranylegislationoranyactionwhichcurbstheconsumptionofalcoholintheNorthwestTerritories.YellowknifeCentreMLARobertHawkinssimilarlyaddedtherightsofthemanymustoutweightherightsofthefew.IfthislegislationbeingenactedgivesthepeopleoftheSahtuthatauthoritytocon-trolthissubstancewithintheirregionitgivesthemmorecontrolmoreauthorityIthinkitsagoodthing.MLAJaneGroenewegenHayRiverThepassingofBill24meansresidentsoftheotherSahtucommunitieswillnowhaveasayinhowmuchliquorcanbesoldattheNormanWellsliquorstoreaboveknowntobeaprimesourceofliquorforbootleggersdealinginTulitaDelineFortGoodHopeandColvilleLake.PhotoAlasdairVeitch