More than half of Yukoners want to have a minimum distance set between liquor retail outlets and “sensitive sites,” according to recent statistics gathered by the territorial government.

About 56 per cent of those who responded as part of the public engagement process for the review of the 40-year-old Yukon Liquor Act supported the idea of setting a minimum distance between areas that sell liquor and sites like parks, day cares, shelters and schools.

It’s partly in hopes of improving responsible consumption, John Streicker, the minister responsible for the Yukon Liquor Corp. (YLC), told the Star Wednesday.

Some of the feedback received was published in a “What we heard” document Wednesday by the government.

Though it varies in details, Streicker said, there were some major themes.

“It ranges from support for our local bars and restaurants while at the same time challenging us to push this notion of responsible consumption further,” he said.

It detailed feedback received from consultations which consisted of 44 meetings held in 14 communities across the territory. It was part of the larger review process that began in November 2017.

Meetings wrapped up in March of this year, the document noted. About 450 Yukoners also took part in an online survey that ran about six weeks, it added.

Streicker pointed out that with the decades-old act not being majorly reviewed for at least a decade since 2001, it was high time for it to be modernized.

An example of modernizing that approach, the minister continued, could involve requesting that somebody who is intoxicated leave an establishment act as more of a last resort.

Instead, other factors like the possibility of the person driving home intoxicated, or poor weather conditions, could be considered, with people instead being encouraged to sober up before being kicked out.

“It’s about helping foster more responsible drinking while acknowledging that our food and beverage, and alcohol production, industries are important,” Streicker said.

The review also presents an opportunity to clarify language and the relationship between the government, the YLC and the Yukon Liquor Board, Streicker said.

The document notes one of the themes as “removing contradictions between the Act and Regulation, and making the language congruent with other legislation and government policies.”

That feedback comes after pricing concerns raised in June. The YLC sent a notice to wholesale licensees detailing proposed hikes that could have taken effect on July 1.

It led to some restaurants and bars expressing frustration that they had not been consulted with enough notice just weeks before the Canada Day long weekend.

Premier Sandy Silver assured Yukoners that his government had not approved a hike to draught beer prices.

The YLC maintained it’s the corporation that calls the shots when it came to setting prices under the act.

In its current form, the act states in part that the YLC has “sole power and jurisdiction” to, among other things, “set the price at which liquor may be sold at liquor stores.

This could be clarified with the review, Streicker said.

Meanwhile, respondents were also asked if they would support the setting of minimum prices for drinks sold in restaurants and bars. More than half (53 per cent) said they would not.

The act also mentions directives that can be issued by the government, which consist of in part, targets that the corporation is obligated to hit – which the act notes can be “in the best interest” of the corporation.

Matt King, the corporation’s president, told the Star in June that examining the relationship between a Crown corporation like the YLC and the government could be useful to look at during the review.

That’s something Streicker said could be on the table.

“You need to be very clear about how close or distant it is from the government and where the decision making is,” Streicker said, speaking more broadly of the governance of a corporation.

“Because those concerns got raised, we will now look to develop policy around that.”

Streicker noted, though, that it could be spelled out in the regulation “later on” rather than the act itself.

He continued that this review can line up nicely with cannabis regulations, as both can cause impairment.

The act governing cannabis legalization in the territory, the Cannabis Control and Regulation Act, passed during the past spring’s legislative sitting.

“Not everything is mirrored, but we want to be cognitive of how the two acts could work alongside each other,” said Streicker.

Based partly on the feedback provided, he said, it was decided that it was best to work on the act and regulations at the same time for continuity purposes.

After seeing “some of the decisions that we might take to (be) addressing these various issues that arose, it might be regulations and it might be the act.”

Streicker said that with the possibility of buying cannabis either in person at the YLC’s retail store or online through the corporation’s store, the government wanted to see if there was support to consider the online sale of alcohol as well.

“We are looking at in the future, e-commerce coming in – and that being” something to consider.

According to the document, though, consumers were “generally satisfied” with the access to and availability of liquor.

More than half (58 per cent) ranked as adequate the availability of alcohol at retail through YLC stores and/or off-sales locations.

Yukoners were also asked about other ways to access liquor, like offering remote sales through pick-up or delivery services, as other jurisdictions do.

Most were slow to warm up to this idea.

Almost half (46 per cent) opposed the idea of home delivery services, with under 30 per cent supporting it.

The social responsibility of the YLC and businesses selling liquor, education and prevention campaigns around the harms of drinking and pregnancy and encouraging moderation initiatives were also topics mentioned in the feedback.

The government hopes to bring the act back to the legislature during the fall of 2019.

It will look to form an advisory group that will consider, among other things, responsible consumption.

There are roughly 150 licensed establishments that sell liquor, including bars, sports clubs, RV parks and distilleries.

The YLC operates six stores in Faro, Haines Junction, Mayo, Watson Lake, Dawson City and here in Whitehorse.