Anti-drunk driving group supports Iqaluit beer wine store

Mothers Against Drunk Driving is weighing in on whether the Nunavut government should open a pilot beer and wine store in the capital.

The territorial government has put forward the idea as a harm reduction approach, arguing that a direct-sales model would help curb bootlegging and binge-drinking, because the store would only sell beer and wine not hard liquor.

We know that when theres a regulator and its the government, consumption levels go down," says Andrew Murrie, CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada.

Obviously with a small population and small operation, youre not going to see it on a big scale like you would in a large province, but all the fundamentals are absolutely there.

Murie says MADD Canada is not opposed to alcohol in general: only to people who distribute and consume alcohol irresponsibly.

He says there's no perfect system and people are always going to get hurt and killed in alcohol-related accidents.

MADD Canada has conducted several national studies on the harm caused by alcohol and best practices for controlling them.

The organization does not have a Nunavut Branch or representative.