Toronto Councillor Wants To Make Drinking In Parks Legal Just In Time For May 24

You could be enjoying a socially distanced six-pack in a Toronto park this summer if one city councillor has his way.

Councillor Josh Matlow is asking the city's Infrastructure and Environment Committee to allow some drinking in Toronto parks, arguing that it would encourage people to hang out outside and lower the risk of COVID-19 transmission. 

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Matlow wants to allow people to drink alcohol under 15 percent from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at public parks and beaches with bathrooms from May 21 to October 31, 2021, similar to a pilot program in Vancouver from 2020.

In a statement explaining his request, Matlow quoted infectious disease expert Dr. Zain Chegla: "There’s all these reports of transmission in bars and house parties. So why don’t we mitigate that risk? Let’s use the outdoors rather than forcing people indoors for their gatherings." 

"It is up to us as policy makers to create environments where those connections with friends and family can be made in the safest way possible," Matlow wrote.