Alcohol law often unenforced

Kahnawake’s alcohol control board is still without inspection officers, even after issuing a 10-month moratorium on alcohol permits last year in protest of their demand for them going unheeded.

That moratorium was finally lifted that December, after a commitment was made by the former Council table to address their concerns. Nearly one year later, however, little progress has been made by Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK), meaning oftentimes Kahnawake’s alcohol law isn’t enforced.

“Nothing happened,” said former chairperson Michael Stalk Sr., who left the board this past June. “That was one of the reasons why I resigned.”

He’s been on the Alcohol Beverages Control Board (ABC) on and off since its inception in the 1990s. They’ve long called on Council to do more to support them, in particular through passing a new alcohol law, but that’s yet to come to fruition, he said. A new law would need to be put in place before compliance officers could hit the ground.

“We always had a good relationship with the Council table, and they always supported our efforts,” Stalk said, emphasizing he didn’t leave the board on bad terms. “It’s just that nothing was ever implemented.”

Carolyn Stalk, the current chair of the board, said similarly.

“We are put on the back burner,” she said, saying Council has largely been focused on the cannabis control board. “That’s their priority at the moment.”

The Kahnawake Peacekeepers have the sole authority to enforce the alcohol law and can lay charges in the instance the law isn’t being followed, but their ability to do so is limited. They’re not able to carry out routine inspections of the bars or grocery stores that hold the permits, for instance, which is why there’s long been calls for compliance officers.

The board also doesn’t have access to any testing facilities, Michael Stalk said, and so can’t test products to assess whether or not they’re safe for consumption.

“I don’t agree with making a law while not being able to enforce it,” he said. “We make a law just for the sake of making a law, and hopefully people will follow it. That doesn’t work.”

Council chief Iohahí:io Delisle said the delay in revamping the alcohol law comes down to backlogs at Kahnawake’s legislative commission.

“It comes down to the queue at the legislation office. Legislation has so many laws that are up for amendment,” said Delisle, the lead on commissions and boards. “I’m working on that to expedite it.”

Delisle assured he’s committed to prioritizing the board. Just this month the MCK took steps to host an election on the board’s behalf, he said. There’s currently only three board members, including its chair, but it can have up to seven in total.

“We’re looking at it very proactively, and we’re going to bring a solution to the community, definitely this term, reviewing the law and reviewing regulations to capture enforcement and compliance,” he said.

Council chief Paul Rice is also working alongside Delisle on the regulatory boards file. He said Kahnawake’s regulatory boards have long been neglected by the MCK, something he said he wants to address.

“I think all the regulatory boards historically haven’t been invested in enough in terms of people, policy, processes, and even technology,” he said. “The community is running a surplus, especially the Council, and it’s time to invest, especially into our regulatory boards and commissions, so we can have appropriate oversight over certain industries.”

Community members interested in joining the alcohol control board still have until today (Friday, November 29) to submit an application.

Each will have to pass a criminal background check and demonstrate they have no ties to the industry to be considered, in addition to meeting other eligibility requirements.

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