The legal drinking age in Saskatchewan is the same as in most other provinces. Only Manitoba, Alberta and Quebec have a lower drinking age (18 years). The issue of lowering Saskatchewan`s legal drinking age to 18 was considered by the government following a resolution passed at the Saskatchewan Party`s annual convention in November. In addition, there are fewer road accidents and deaths under the influence of alcohol in countries where the legal drinking age is 18. Although the statistics I found are from the 1980s. There is absolutely no evidence that minors would stop drinking if the legal drinking age were raised. A typical example is the United States, where the legal drinking age is 21, but it is not uncommon for young people under the age of 21 to have consumed alcohol before reaching adulthood. “The decision to maintain the current legal drinking age is the right one and is supported by police chiefs across the province,” said Dale Larsen, a member of the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police. “We know that young people are already disproportionately involved in a disproportionate number of incidents involving alcohol, so it would be worse to allow young people to legally consume alcohol earlier.” The Saskatchewan Party government ruled out lowering the drinking age four months after party members raised the issue. The Government of Saskatchewan has made amendments that would give municipalities and park authorities the discretion to allow alcohol consumption in outdoor public places, such as parks, for people of legal drinking age. Teens still drink alcohol regardless of their drinking age, but perhaps normalizing alcohol consumption by encouraging responsibility and moderation will put an end to binge drinking, which is very typical of high school teens and teens.
Last November, party members voted at their annual conference to lower the minimum drinking age in Saskatchewan to 18 as well. In 1971, Ontario lowered the legal drinking age from 21 to 18; But since 1979, the province has set 19 as the legal drinking age. The reason for this turnaround? This happened in part because, when the age was lowered to 18, there were too many complaints about high school students` drunkenness. Doesn`t that encourage them to drink elsewhere? If it had been legal at home, they would have simply planned to go there instead of travelling from the province to do so. This would therefore benefit the economy as more people would stay here to socialize, while preventing them from returning home after such a weekend (perhaps hangovers or above the legal limit). “We have heard from advocacy groups and people across the province that the government should not change the drinking age in Saskatchewan,” said Donna Harpauer, minister responsible for the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority. “While some people also supported lowering the age to 18, it became clear that the majority was pushing the government to maintain the status quo.” Given that the majority of the world is legal at 18 and Saskatchewan is located between Alberta and Manitoba, which are 18, it makes sense to change the age. Growing up, I remember classmates planning trips to Medicine Hat with their friends. They stayed with friends or got hotel rooms and went to Medicine Hat to drink because they were now legal. While this doesn`t seem like an abrupt change, this week Lynne and I decided to talk about the drinking age in Saskatchewan, which is 19 and should stay or be lowered.
As a society, we all pay the price (some higher than others) for alcoholism and its effects (excessive drinking and driving, to name just two). The cost to all of us is too high to legally punish – and thus encourage – young people to drink at an earlier age. Many 18-year-olds are still in high school and may not be prepared to deal with the potential consequences of alcohol consumption. Another concern is that schools and parents may find it more difficult to enforce abstinence among young teens if 18-year-olds share legally purchased alcohol with their younger peers. By deciding to keep the legal drinking age at 19, Saskatchewan is maintaining balanced legislation that keeps pace with most of Canada. By keeping the legal drinking age where it is, the negative consequences of alcohol consumption by young adolescents are likely to be minimized. And 19-year-olds in the province are not treated like children, but like the young adults they are. Why not drop old age and make it less desirable? Make it more expensive, tax it more, and eliminate promotions of all kinds at the bar if you`re worried about 18-year-olds going out and getting run over. However, this age group is already drinking and it would not be better to try to regulate it than just do it. The case for lowering the legal drinking age in Saskatchewan is not new.
The legal drinking age is 18 in the two neighbouring provinces of Alberta and Manitoba as well as in Quebec. In March 2013, MLAs voted to keep Saskatchewan`s legal drinking age at 19 instead of 18. The specific proposal to lower the drinking age in Saskatchewan was narrowly passed by the Saskatchewan Party at its November 2012 convention.