The GNWT is standing behind changes to the opening hours of Inuvik’s liquor store in the face of opposition from the Nihtat Gwich’in Council.
The town liquor store has been owned and operated since the start of April by a company associated with GK Holdings, a firm with various other commercial operations in the NWT and Alberta.
When the new owners took over, they filed a request to extend the store’s opening hours to include Sundays between June 1 and September 30 each year, alongside more flexibility to open on statutory holidays. Ordinarily in the NWT, liquor stores remain closed on Sundays.
The NWT government subsequently granted the Inuvik liquor store the right to open from 2-6pm on Sundays during the summer.
On Thursday this week, the Nihtat Gwich’in Council issued a statement voicing “strong opposition” to the store’s new hours.
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“This is not just about access, it’s about consequences,” Nihtat Gwich’in President Kelly McLeod – re-elected to that role on Monday – was quoted as saying.
“Expanding alcohol availability in communities already struggling with substance abuse is not only irresponsible, it’s dangerous.”
Inuvik’s town council had given the request its blessing in May, though not without concern from some councillors and residents.
Mayor Peter Clarkson told Cabin Radio this week that the decision to open the store on Sunday was a GNWT matter and the town would have no further comment.
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GK Holdings says it operates the Inuvik liquor store by “focusing on community service and adherence to territorial regulations.”
The Nihtat Gwich’in Council said it had sent letters to the town and to territorial finance minister Caroline Wawzonek, who has oversight of liquor licensing, to express “serious concern over the lack of consultation,” labelling the decision one made unilaterally that “disregards both public health data and community well-being.”
In a written response provided to Cabin Radio on Friday, the GNWT disagreed with some of those assertions.
The territorial government said Wawzonek had sought input in April from the town, Gwich’in Tribal Council and Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, and had incorporated feedback received into the final decision. (After this article was published, the Nihtat Gwich’in Council provided the GTC’s letter to Wawzonek from May in which it had set out its opposition.)
The territory said the minister had “approved a reduced window of 2-6pm on Sundays that aligns with the town’s recommendation” and would allow “statutory holiday openings at the operator’s discretion.”
“We recognize that the Nihtat Gwich’in Council is disappointed by this decision. It was made, in part, to ensure that residents have safe and legal access to liquor,” the GNWT stated.
“During the Department of Finance’s 2021–22 liquor legislation review engagement sessions, participants emphasized that simply restricting access to liquor often leads to increased bootlegging and unsafe consumption, rather than reducing harm.
“Engagement participants also expressed support for enhanced access to safe, legal alcohol as part of a broader harm-reduction approach.”
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The territory asserted that “addressing alcohol-related harm effectively requires more than limiting store hours, and meaningful intervention calls for a focus on the root causes, including overconsumption and addiction, through investments in education, prevention, treatment, and community-based supports.”
The Nihtat Gwich’in Council had requested that the GNWT immediately reverse its decision and “undertake meaningful consultation” alongside the development of a long-term harm reduction-based alcohol policy. The GNWT, in its response, gave no indication its decision will change.
An alcohol strategy already exists at territorial level.
Introduced in 2023, the strategy promises better, more joined-up communication about alcohol alongside changes that encourage healthier choices and make access to services easier, without trying to simply get people to stop drinking entirely.
That strategy does not contemplate whether or not liquor stores should open on Sundays, but does see a role for liquor stores in providing more responsible access to liquor than bootleggers do in many areas of the territory.
