I just wanted to thank councillors Behnsen, Marsh, Douglas and Siebring for voting against the sale of alcohol in grocery stores in North Cowichan.
It was sad to see that our mayor and councillor Maguire did not have the moral courage to also vote against it. We have enough outlets that sell alcohol that we do not need it being peddled beside the bread and butter. And councillor Marsh is quite right in pointing out that it is not wise to have our children exposed to this as they pass by in grocery stores.
Alcoholism is a serious problem in our society and we should be discouraging drinking rather than encouraging it. Maybe it is time to get as serious about alcohol as we did about smoking many years ago. There was a very successful campaign by government and the medical/health professions to educate young people and others about the health hazards of smoking and we can see how consumption decreased dramatically. Time to do this again!
Reed Elley
Chemainus