To the Editor,
Re: Pubs seek support for revised law, Feb. 15.
So the local pub owners are crying foul over the new driving legislation, although they do admit that the economy and time of year also account for their business being slow.
According to Public Safety Minister Rich Coleman, the laws are working as alcohol-related accidents are down. People might be taking it more seriously now and that should be reason to celebrate. How can these business owners, in good conscience, complain about actions that are probably saving lives? And how can Mr. Coleman agree to review the laws because of this group’s grumbling – he was an RCMP officer and must have seen some horrible alcohol-related accidents himself?
As the widow of a drunk driver, I find it rather disturbing that these people are going after the lawmakers who are trying to make our roads safer. How insensitive and callous it makes them out to be.
It may be a legal and generally accepted “drug”, but alcohol is a mind-altering substance nonetheless and licensed establishments are all about selling it and then sending their customers on their way.
Maybe it’s time for them to adapt to the ever-changing world we live in just like everybody else is having to do. Perhaps they should be thinking up other ways to bring people in, find other things to offer their patrons to keep their business. Or maybe we just don’t need as many pubs/bars/clubs.
We all hear about the statistics over and over, and we may have become immune to them, but there are very real people and their families behind those stats.
As angry as it made me to read about the bar-owners’ complaints, I can’t imagine how the parent of a child killed by a drunk driver must have felt.
We should be doing everything we can to prevent these senseless tragedies.
There are plenty of other things not in our control that take our loved ones from us. This one we just might be making some headway on.
Lisa Desprez
Nanaimo