Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Province boosting fines for underage booze sales

TEENS caught drinking will pay higher fines as will adults caught selling booze to minors, the Selinger government said Thursday.

Family Services and Consumer Affairs Minister Gord Mackintosh, who's responsible for the Liquor Control Act, said people who sell to, or buy alcohol for, a minor, will be subject to a fine that will rise to a minimum of $2,000, plus costs, from $1,260.30.

In licensed premises where minors are not permitted to consume alcohol, the licensee will face a fine of $655.65 from $292.65. Licensed premises are also subject to disciplinary action by the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission (MLCC). The minimum fine for a corporation that sells to or buys alcohol for minors will be $5,000, plus costs.

And the fine for teens who try to buy to alcohol using fake ID, or who are caught in possession of or drinking alcohol, will increase to $655.65 from $292.65.

Mackintosh said in a statement that with the increases, Manitoba now has some of the highest fines in Canada associated with underage drinking.

He cited a 2009 Health Survey Report of 34,000 Manitoba youth in which 36 per cent of students indicated they had consumed alcohol at lease once in the past 30 days and 34 per cent reported they had engaged in binge drinking (consuming five or more drinks in one sitting).

The report also indicated 20 per cent of Grade 9 students engaged in binge-drinking behaviour at least once in the previous month with the percentage of reported binge drinking increasing to 51 per cent for Grade 12 students.

Mackintosh also said the MLCC will host a summit on the issue of underage drinking this fall. It will address access to alcohol by minors, social norms, parental control, legislation, enforcement, community involvement and public education.

-- Staff

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 14, 2010 A8

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