In a 2013 report on liquor sales and crime, the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (AGLC) said the connection is “complex.”
While it’s true the more frequently people drink, the more likely they are to commit crimes. There is no evidence from anywhere in North America that the number of liquor stores or their concentration within communities leads, directly, to more crime.
Both of Alberta’s neighbouring provinces – B.C. and Saskatchewan – have far more government-controlled liquor retailing than we do. Yet both have more liquor-related crime.
LORNE GUNTER – POSTMEDIA NETWORK – JULY 22, 2015.