Bylaw ban on booze in city parks ended in 2005, bylaw officers kept fining people

If you've been ticketed by a by-law officer for drinking in one of Hamilton's public parks any time since 2005, the city is realizing it made a mistake.

A report to the public works committee says that it's "unclear" why provisions against alcohol consumption in public parks were repealed in 2005 but city staff recommend getting the by-law back on the books as soon as possible.

While the by-law subsection that prohibits alcohol consumption or sales in public parks had been void more than 15 years ago when other amendments were enacted, by-law officers had continued to issue tickets resulting in almost $4000 in fines paid to the city.

Of 73 tickets issued by Hamilton's by-law officers since 2005, 72 were handed out in 2021 compared to 1 in 2017, and the city says that jump in tickets is directly linked to COVID-19 enforcement.

Without the by-law in place, municipal law enforcement officers do not have the authority to issue alcohol related charges in Hamilton's parks. 

Any tickets or penalties issued for drinking in the park since 2005 by by-law officers are of "no force and effect," the report states. Staff has taken steps to withdraw any pending penalties in the system and contact members of the public to reimburse them for payments made. 

The lack of municipal by-law doesn't mean park beers are permitted because police can still enforce restrictions on drinking in public parks under Ontario's Liquor Licence and Control Act.

"As far as the Hamilton Police are concerned, it's always been and will always be that members of the public can't drink in public places," Krista-Lee Ernst, media relations constable said.

"We enforce this every single day. This is something that we've always enforced," Ernst said.

Reinstating the by-law allows for the municipality to continue forward with enforcement by staff that has "worked well in the past" as stated in the report by city staff. 

"Why we'd like to put this back into our bylaws, is so that we could have additional opportunities for enforcement," Kara Bunn, manager of parks and cemeteries for the City of Hamilton said in a public works committee meeting on Monday.

"It's never been allowed in parks. It's just a change in who does the enforcement."

The report also reasons that the reinstatement is needed, "because when unauthorized drinking in city parks occurs; staff find this often leads to vandalism, physical altercations, dangerous and reckless behaviour and waste left in the parks," the report reads. 

During the public works meeting that addressed the housekeeping amendment on Monday, councillor John-Paul Danko asked whether this may be an opportunity for Hamilton to reconsider by-laws surrounding alcohol consumption in city parks.