Proportionate Rules Need Proportionate Evidence
A proportionality brief asking Alberta to match Bill 208 restrictions to measured access problems.
The proportionality test
A proportionate rule should match the problem it claims to solve. If youth access is mainly coming from illegal or informal supply, a legal-retail restriction cannot be called proportionate without an enforcement plan for those channels.
What the record says
The May 27 committee transcript said Bill 208 may be reviewed through technical briefings, written feedback, stakeholder consultation, cross-jurisdictional analysis, issues documents, and recommendations, according to the committee transcript. That is exactly the kind of process that should produce evidence, not just positions.
A September ask
- Publish the source-of-access question.
- Publish enforcement capacity assumptions.
- Publish a review date and success measures.