A Collingwood resident is campaigning for looser liquor rules in Collingwood parks with a Change.org petition circulating online.
Jonathan Hillis has started a petition to get the Town of Collingwood to consider allowing open alcohol in their public parks, which as of Friday, is inching toward 200 signatures so far. Launched on March 27, the petition points to the City of Toronto’s recently completed Alcohol in Parks pilot project, and notes Collingwood should take Toronto’s lead and start a similar pilot of their own.
“I have two young kids and we go to the parks often. I play volleyball at the beach courts. You already see people doing it, but concealing it,” said Hillis. “This way, we can model what responsible drinking can look like to youth. Right now, we’re teaching them how to conceal it.”
Toronto’s Alcohol in Parks pilot project ran from Aug. 2, 2023 to Oct. 9, 2023 in 27 of their parks. According to a report on the findings of the pilot presented to Toronto city council in March, there were few issues that arose during the pilot and minimal impacts. According to a survey commissioned by the town, 92 per cent of people who visited a pilot park said they were satisfied with their visit, felt safe, and noted that people they saw drinking in the park were considerate.
The report notes there were service requests for noise, behaviour or garbage/recycling bins during the pilot, but not all of these were attributable to the pilot. Further, there was no increased need for police response at the vast majority of pilot parks, and no increase in hospital emergency department visits due to alcohol, compared to the previous year.
Toronto city council's committee of the whole supported making the pilot project permanent to allow alcohol consumption in at least one park per ward, but the decision still has to be ratified by city council.
The Collingwood petition is recommending parks for the pilot should include Sunset Point Park, Millennium Park, Central Park, Fisher Fields, Old Village Park, Heritage Park and Whites Bay Park.
While the petition is making the rounds on a few Collingwood-based social media pages, Hillis said he has seen some opposition to the idea. However, he said he doesn't like rules made for everyone to try to address a few bad actors who may overindulge.
“Just because there’s an opportunity to (drink in public), doesn’t mean everybody will and it doesn’t mean everybody has to either,” he said. “I think the way it works now, you’re guilty until proven innocent. This would flip it.”
He notes that disorderly conduct while drunk in public laws would still apply. There are no laws in Canada regarding public intoxication, while liquor laws are regulated by each province and fines differ. There is a section of the criminal code that includes a charge for causing a disturbance for being drunk in a public place.
“We shouldn’t make decisions based on one or two (who might take it too far), when we have 26,000 people living here,” said Hillis. “We can always anticipate problems, but we won’t know if there is a problem until we allow it to happen.”
Hillis is in the process of trying to register a deputation to present the petition to Collingwood council at a future time, and ask them to consider approving a pilot.
“We’re doing it in the backyards of our homes, or in restaurants. I think we have an incredible community of responsible folks,” he said.
To view and sign the petition, click here.
