Canadian cities are legalizing alcohol in parks. Some are celebrating, others worry it's a slippery slope

Calgary Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra says the idea to legalize drinking alcohol in some of the city's parks came straight from local residents.

Numerous "unsolicited" responses to a public parks survey called on the city to loosen alcohol rules and pushed council to explore the idea, he told Cross Country Checkup.

Last summer, a pilot was launched making it legal to consume wine, beer and spirits at 58 designated picnic spots across Calgary. It proved a success, with more than 1,500 bookings for the tables, according to numbers from the city.

"There's this idea that, maybe, if we don't stuff these things into dark corners and call them vices and really enjoy them in moderation and integrate that into a healthful society, we'll be in a better shape collectively," said Carra, who represents Calgary's Ward 9.

Calls to loosen rules around drinking alcohol in public spaces have increased in recent years, spurred in part by the COVID-19 pandemic making it necessary to gather outdoors.

Calgary expanded its pilot program in May, and other cities are mirroring its approach to the issue. This spring, Vancouver and Edmonton expanded similar programs that began last year.

All three cities limit alcohol consumption to between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. In Vancouver, public beaches and park amenities such as playgrounds and pools are among the spaces off limits to those with alcohol.

Still, critics of the idea say it could lead to inappropriate — and potentially unsafe — behaviour, such as alcohol-related violence and vandalism.

Toronto's city council voted last month to disallow consuming booze in parks, directing staff to study the issue further and report back in 2023.

"I've heard from many people with complaints about things that happen in our city parks that are obnoxious and are problems for the community, and some of those things are fuelled by illegal drinking," Stephen Holyday, councillor for Toronto's Ward 3, said in an interview with Checkup.

"The way I've considered this is that it seems to be a solution which is in search of a problem."

Proponents say allowing alcohol in public parks is an issue of equity, particularly in Canada's urban centres where many residents live in small apartments with little, if any, space for socializing.

"The issue is really whether the city is imagined as a place where the vast majority of people have spacious backyards ... or whether we realize that in places like Toronto, a lot of people live in tiny apartments and they may not even have a balcony, and so they may need to socialize in parks," said Mariana Valverde, a criminology professor at the University of Toronto.

But Holyday argues that changing laws to allow drinking in parks will open the door to "something that can create problematic behaviours," such as excessive partying or disrupting other park users, and that legitimizing alcohol could make it harder for bylaw officers to limit this behaviour.