Tsiigehtchic to vote on lifting ban on booze again
The plebiscite is set to be held January 13, 2020, after the first was never made official
In a case of deja vu for some residents in Tsiigehtchic, N.W.T., the community is gearing up for a plebiscite on whether to scrap its prohibition on alcohol – again.
The dry community already voted in favour of lifting the booze ban during its election in June 2018 — but that wasn't an "official vote," according to Senior Administrative Officer (SAO) Grant Scott.
"The former SAO put on the ballot [a poll] about plebiscite and people voted in favour of unrestricted alcohol consumption," he said, adding people assumed the poll was an official plebiscite.
At the time, the former SAO told CBC that following the 2018 vote, an official plebiscite needed to be held within 90 days, something that appears to have not been done.
"His heart was in the right place, but he didn't know the procedure," Scott said. "This time we're doing it right."
Residents will be able to vote in favour of one of the following:
- continued prohibition.
- unrestricted alcohol sales.
- some allowed combination of alcohol: 2280 ml of spirits and 24 containers of beer; 2280 ml of spirits and four litres of wine; 24 containers of beer and four litres of wine; 48 containers of beer and two litres of wine.
The plebiscite is set to be held January 13, 2020.