Natuashish booze ban has meant less crime, quiet streets: residents

A year after residents of the Innu community of Natuashish narrowly voted to become the first dry town in Newfoundland and Labrador, residents say the controversial measure has proven successful.

Truancy rates have dropped at the northern Labrador community's school, police are laying fewer charges and residents say the community seems healthier and more alert.

"A lot of people I know are sober now," said Anna Rich, 24. Playing a game of volleyball at a community centre, the clerk added, "People here are more interested in activities."

Residents of Natuashish — a town on Labrador's northern coast where residents relocated in 2002 from Davis Inlet, which had become infamous for gas-sniffing children and dilapidated housing — chose last year to make alcohol illegal in the community.

The vote was divisive, literally and figuratively. Only half of the residents showed up for the vote, and the ones who did were required to show their vote by standing with the group they favoured.

But Katie Rich, a former chief in Davis Inlet, said the move is now paying dividends.

"There seems to be less crisis in the community," said Rich, who had pushed for a prohibition for alcohol for years.

"You don't hear planes [at] 2 and 3 in the morning. That's usually what happens when a tragedy occurs."

RCMP confirm that assault charges are down about 50 per cent, and there has been an 80 per cent drop in reports of petty crime.

At the school, more children are attending classes, and principal Jackie Williams said more children are ready to learn.

"We've been having more parents coming in for family day [and] the children are a little bit better dressed and taken care of," she said.

"They're not coming in sleep-deprived, which is nice to see. They're not putting their heads on their desk and getting their nap in the morning because they were up all night worrying about mom and dad," Williams said.

Test scores are up, and there's been a change in the school breakfast program.

"We started off with 140 kids. Now we're into anywhere between 40 and 100," said volunteer Elsie Greenham. "That shows that some kids are getting a good breakfast at home."

Ban seen as heavy-handed

Some residents, though, remain opposed to the ban, or resent what they see as a heavy-handed way of implementing it.

"If people get into trouble, they will not report it to the police what happened, because they'll be arrested too," said George Gregoire Sr., who was among those who were fined when the ban first came into effect.

"They just keep quiet."

Gregoire said he has stopped drinking, but many in Natuashish still do.

But Natuashish Chief Prote Poker disputes that people have simply stopped reporting crimes. He also acknowledges that the town still has a lot of work to do, to tackle substance-abuse issues that have dogged families for generations.

"I stopped drinking 10 years ago, over 10 years … I drank to drown the pain," he said.

"It's hard to stop drinking because we've been drinking for so long."

Poker said one of the goals for the Natuashish band council now is to provide more educational and cultural programs for residents who are becoming accustomed to sobriety.