Minister challenges Mayor’s stance on alcohol enforcement
Posted Aug 30, 2012 03:38:24 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A Nova Scotia cabinet minister says Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly is wrong to suggest the province isn’t doing enough to curb binge drinking in the city’s bar district.
John MacDonell, the minister responsible for the Liquor Control Act, says Kelly’s recent accusation rings hollow because he failed to back it up with any facts.
“We’ve taken this on, I think, when I became minister that came to this department,” says Macdonnell. “So, I have to say, unless he has some numbers to back up what he’s saying, I don’t know where he’s coming from.”
Earlier this week, Kelly issued a statement saying too many people are showing up drunk at bars, where they are served more alcohol _ a violation of the Liquor Control Act.
He says he wants the minister and bar owners to do more to enforce the law.
Bar owners have already condemned Kelly’s comments, and MacDonell insists the province is doing its part.
