New daily liquor import permit limits took effect across Nunavut on Nov. 27, in accordance with changes to the Liquor Act.
Changes have been made to the the volume and frequency of spirits that an individual can import to the territory.
These new limits are:
-One permit per day, per individual.
-Alcohol orders are limited to one permit per order.
-A maximum of seven litres of spirits per permit — these limits do not apply to beer, wine, or other low-alcohol content beverages (coolers), or to liquor imported by sealift.
“We heard from many stakeholders, including hamlet councils and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, that import permit limits were required to curb the amount of hard liquor imported into communities for the purposes of bootlegging,” said Finance Minister Lorne Kusugak. “These new limits directly respond to those calls for change and were set based on feedback we received from our stakeholders.”
There were no previous limits on the amount of alcohol an individual could import into Nunavut using a liquor import permit.
The Nunavut Liquor and Cannabis Commission (NULC) is also changing its office hours to purchase liquor import permits. The new hours are:
-Iqaluit NULC store: 12:00 pm – 5 p.m. Tuesday to Friday
-Rankin Inlet NULC office: 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday
-By phone: 1-855-844-5488, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. CST, Monday to Friday