Name: Philip Moses Gampi
ID: 200-286-953
Course: Econ-280
Instructor: John Wright
Term: Fall 2014
Assignment: two
Due Date: October 2nd, 2014

Legal Drinking Age should be eighteen.
The socio-economic implications of lowering the legal drinking age from nineteen to eighteen.
There were recommendations from different stakeholders, groups, and the Saskatchewan Party in 2013 to lower the legal drinking age to eighteen in the province. The results from the resolution turned out that the majority of people voted to maintain the current legal drinking age, which is nineteen. The Saskatchewan Police Chiefs Association disagreed strongly about lowering the legal drinking age to eighteen and they are the biggest opponent to the resolution.
The eighteen year olds are just as responsible as nineteen year olds are. The jobs eighteen year olds do include working as police officers, soldiers, and fathers/mothers. If eighteen year olds can do most of these professional jobs, it implies that they will drink legally and be responsible people. One of the eighteen year olds interviewed says that it is not the age causing the illegal behaviours but the alcohol consumed. The legal drinking age in New Brunswick (NB), Manitoba (MB), and Alberta (Alta) is eighteen and they seem to be fine. Statistics Canada report shows that in 2011, the number of impaired drivers causing death in Saskatchewan is higher compared to New Brunswick, Manitoba and Alberta. The legal drinking age in Saskatchewan is nineteen but that does not curve the impaired driving incidents in the province. Another advantage of lowering the legal drinking age to eighteen is that the Saskatchewan Government will generate tax revenue from alcohol sales. The last but not the least advantages of lowering the legal drinking age to eighteen are that it will minimize alcohol smuggling from our neighbouring provinces namely Alberta and Manitoba.
The Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan Police Chief made a comment saying that young people are already involved in many inappropriate incidents around the province and letting them, drink legally is asking for more problems as one of the disadvantages of lowering the legal drinking age. Drinking and driving is prevalent among young people, which will cause many traffic accidents. The second disadvantage is the socio-economic problems, which would be the cost to the Saskatchewan Government to fight increased illegal activities. The Saskatchewan Police Chiefs’ Association also fear that there will be social disruptions throughout the province if the legal drinking age is eighteen. The amount of taxes collected from the young people reaching eighteen years old would not cover the costs incurred from inappropriate incidents. Workers injured from reckless eighteen-year-old drivers will miss work for weeks therefore causing productions in Saskatchewan to decrease.

The Minister of Finance, Treasury Boards, Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI), and Workers Compensation Boards need