About 30 people showed up Monday evening for the first public meeting to be held on proposed changes to alcohol regulations in La Ronge and area.
The Northern Alcohol Strategy has put forward 49 recommendations and the town is in the early stages of consulting with local residents to decide which ones should be implemented.
La Ronge Mayor Ron Woytowich says he is a bit disappointed with the turnout at the meeting held at the Kikinahk Friendship Centre.
“Our target was about one hundred people, to me that’s not enough and that’s why I stressed that the survey has to go out further, we really do what more public input.”
Woytowich says a new survey has been developed and later this month it will be decided how it should be distributed in the community to gather more feedback.
During the public question and answer period at the meeting, a number of people asked about how some of the options put forward could be drawn up into regulations.
Questions were asked about the legalities of limiting businesses and what role the provincial government would play.
Woytowich says drafting a policy is in the very early stages and many details are simply not known at this time.
“The regulations themselves are provincial, we would have to find out what laws we can make with respect to alcohol service, I’m assuming that SLGA would have to endorse it.”
A number of organizations are part of the Community Alcohol Management Plan including those representing health services, child and family services , the school division and the RCMP.
Because the process is in the early stages, Mayor Woytowich could not give a time line on when proposed changes to liquor regulations could be drawn up and brought before Town Council for a vote.