Sask. allowing municipalities to permit alcohol consumption in parks

The Saskatchewan government has amended regulations to allow alcohol consumption in municipal parks, if local governments want it.

The government first introduced the amendment last spring, but it needed unanimous support to pass at the time.The Opposition NDP said the government was rushing the change and wanted to speak to municipalities and police before offering support. Without the NDP's support, the government could not fast-track the bill.

The bill was re-introduced inDecember, and last week it received royal assent after gaining support from both government and Opposition MLAs.

The bill will now head to cabinet to receive final approval through an order-in-council, a step that is merely a formality.

"Municipalities still have the autonomy to decide if they want to allow drinking in the parks. So they will decide if that is suitable for their community," said Minister responsible for Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Lori Carr on Thursday.

Carr said the intent of the changes is to let municipalities decide.If they do not pass a bylaw to allow for drinking, it will not be allowed.

"The municipalities that have asked for it are really excited to be able to move forward. Saskatoon was the biggest push for this when this all started."

Carr pointed out that even though to government has amended the law, drinking is not permitted until it is approved by local government.

The Opposition said it decided to support the amendment after speaking to stakeholders.

Saskatoon Meewasin NDP MLA Nathaniel Teed said last spring his caucus was not prepared to pass the legislation "last minute."

"We believe that local voices at the table are really important. [They]know their communities and so we trust that municipalities will be able to make the decisions they need to."

NDP wants cannabis consumption rules looked at

Teed said the Opposition was interested in potentiallymakinganother amendment to the regulations to include cannabis consumption.

He said stakeholders had expressed that desire to him and raised the issue in committee.

"I believe there are a lot of folks in communities that have no legal place to smoke cannabis, and so if a public consumption of alcohol is being considered, I think we could be considering public consumption of cannabis."

Teed said he and his colleagues will continue to consult on the issue of allowing cannabis consumption before committing fully to the policy.

Carr said the government is not considering allowing public cannabis consumption.

"It might be normalized, but it's still not legal in public places. So that will still be enforced. That's not part of this," she said.

"It's not something that has been asked for, so it's not something that we're looking at at this point in time."