The Nunavut government is fed up with bootleggers making $10,000 in a single weekend and is moving to deal with the territory's crippling alcohol problem.
An effort to reform the territory's liquor laws begins today, but Nunavut's Justice Minister is already talking about sky-high fines for bootleggers, and legislation to allow the government to confiscate their homes, boats and snowmobiles.
"You've got bootleggers making $10,000 or $15,000 in a weekend; a small fine is insignificant to them," said Keith Peterson. "But if they're at risk of a $25,000 or $50,000 fine, or if you can lose all your assets from the proceeds of crime, that could make some of the bigger bootleggers think twice."
Mr. Peterson is to meet with the 10 people on a ministerial task force charged with holding public hearings in all 25 Nunavut communities on how liquor should be controlled. The whole review is expected to take about 18 months, Peterson said, but he hopes bootlegging can be attacked right away.
Liquor is already tightly controlled in Nunavut. The territory has no liquor stores. In five communities, including Iqaluit, anyone who wants a bottle of wine or a case of beer has to get a permit, order the alcohol in and pick it up at a government warehouse.
In 13 other communities, "alcohol education committees" decide whether to grant a permit based on an order's size and the reputation of the person placing it. And in seven communities, no liquor is allowed at all - at least officially.
Alcohol, however, is widely available. One Baffin Island community, supposedly dry, recently felt it necessary to pass a public intoxication bylaw.
Police calculate they've seized about $400,000 worth of liquor and cash in the first quarter of this year. In one recent weekend, Iqaluit RCMP broke up a bootlegging ring that had stockpiled about $235,000 in alcohol and liquor permits.
The potential profits provide the explanation. Mr. Peterson said a 1.1-litre bottle of vodka sells for anywhere from $200 to $450, depending on the size of the community. Police estimates are even higher - up to $600.
And there's no doubt about alcohol's social implications in the North.
"Most of the violence in Nunavut is because of alcohol," Mr. Peterson said. "Iqaluit, it's no secret how violent it is. We all know people who have died from abuse of alcohol up here."
The capital registered 2,650 liquor offences in 2009 and averages nearly 1,000 assaults a year in a population of 7,000. The territory's rate of sexual assault in 2007 was 10 times the Canadian rate.
The toll is often felt in the next generation, Mr. Peterson said. "How many of our inmates are affected by fetal alcohol spectrum disorder? It's hard to even calculate that number."
Community members have to do their part as well, he suggested.
"We have to encourage people to talk to their local education committees, talk to their local RCMP, talk to the mayors of the communities and not leave it solely up to the RCMP to catch."
Although the liquor law review will encompass more than just bootlegging, targeting the sellers of illegal booze is a good place to start, Peterson said.
"With enough early feedback, we could start making some immediate changes to existing legislation - increase the fines for bootlegging, introduction of civil forfeiture legislation.
"These individuals who have no visible means of support ... have houses and vehicles. Unless they have won the lottery or received an inheritance, where did the money come from?"
The Canadian Press