Some rural restaurant and bar owners in the county of Mountain View are upset they had no chance to provide input into the province's controversial impaired driving legislation, Bill 26.ìThere was absolutely no consultation,î said Lee Bolster, owner of the Water Valley Saloon. ìThe government basically told our association, ëIt's done. Get lost.' îIn the last month, Bolster noted that he hasn't run across one voter who is going to vote PC again. ìAnd I see 800 to 1,000 people a week,î he added. ìThis is not very good for the PC Party.ìI'm really surprised that a conservative government would infringe upon people's rights like this.îDown the road, at Trails End Pizza Lounge, owner Al Andrews said he felt frustrated by the government's decision and he's worried about his bottom line.ìBasically, the PCs are ramming this bill down our throats without talking about it,î Andrews said. ìWhat they don't realize is that they're now stirring up people to vote, and most of them are buying memberships in other parties.îBill 26, the Alberta Traffic Safety Amendment Act 2011, was introduced in the Alberta legislature by Transportation Minister Ray Danyluk, who said it balances prevention and education with tougher sanctions. That includes the seizure of vehicles as a meaningful consequence to influence driver behaviour.ìThis is safety legislation, first and foremost,î Danyluk said, in an interview earlier this month.The bill was passed on Dec. 6 in the Alberta legislature, with the count recorded as 30 voting in favour and seven opposed. Forty-six did not vote.Bill 26 has attracted criticism from Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills MLA Richard Marz, who said he would not support the legislation for various reasons, including the fact that it is confusing and also that there was not enough public consultation.ìThere are just too many questions and there has been too little time to study all of this,î Marz told the legislature on Dec. 5. ìI don't think this bill is near close enough.îMarz also worried about the impact the bill would have on rural food and beverage establishments, most of whom already have thin profit margins.ìTaking the liquor out of our establishment is going to be detrimental,î said Andrews. ìPeople who are for this bill don't realize that we don't have any taxis out here. There are none in Cremona and none in Water Valley. It doesn't make sense. It's easy for the government to say, just take a cab because you had two beers at lunch.îHe added that he's hearing the same comments from other restaurant owners.ìI know others who are saying this will definitely affect their bottom line, and we're all wondering, do we get out now and let all our staff go?î he said. ìWe have a very tight profit margin. It's not big. We've already cut our profits by providing a better quality of food.îAt PaSu Farms, owner Patrick de Rosemond said Bill 26 will change the way he does business. ìFood in a restaurant will have to get more expensive,î he said. ìWe make money off the bar.î He added that the law hasn't been thought through. ìLaws are good if there has been proper consultation,î he said.Andrews noted that 60 per cent of his business is the food. ìThe couple of glasses of wine that people have with a meal are enough to make the balance sheet work,î he said. ìWe will weather the storm as best as we can. The best we can do is hang around.îBolster is worried that the province is adopting a ìpolice state mentality.îìThe pioneers who built this great province must be turning over in their graves,î he said. ìI really don't think this is the right move. There was no consultation and there is no recourse.îAs well, he is concerned about the effect this will have on his 15 employees, who depend on their jobs at his saloon.ìWe're at a four-way stop at the edge of the bush,î Bolster said. ìAlison Redford might not care about these people, but I do.ìIt'll be up to the Wildrose Party to remove the offending legislation when they win the next election.î
