This is such a fucking bad idea (socially, not even considering financially) and no one talks about it. It’s going to cost us more than money. Making the most harmful drug that curses humanity more available while simultaneously tearing down our addiction treatment. Fucking awesome governance.
More than anything else, my biggest concern is real simple:
Drunk driving is going to go up WAY MORE.
Based on all the drivers I have seen on the road, too many of them lack the restraints to actually follow the rules and not do dumb shit, such as texting while driving, following the rules of the road and giving proper space / signaling, road rage, etc. And we know that there already is a bad enough problem as it is with drunk driving, and how so much of our infrastructure is designed around the necessity of having a car, rather than alternatives for getting around (public transit, primarily).
But now you can drive down to whatever 7/11, gas station, Mac store in your area, grab a six-pack anytime between 7am to 11pm, even on Friday nights? Good luck having all those corner stores trying to enforce the same “no-serve” policy that LCBO and Beer Store employees are expected to follow. You’ll have a lot more bad sales being made where people who shouldn’t be mixing booze with driving (as bad as their latter skills may be, alone) will absolutely be able to do that easier and being far more of a danger on the roads. That is where the biggest costs of drinking is going to come from. And Canada, much like other North Americans, do not have a responsible relationship with booze and drinking.
It is going to be a shit-show for whichever government has to follow in the steps of Ford. Hope you like taxes going up to deal with the consequences of more drunk drivers on the road!
