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And why not? Allowing public drinking is the norm in Europe, the sole exception being Latvia. Ontarians realize that we are out of step with more mature countries, even if their governments have not. What’s the harm in allowing people to have some wine with a picnic?

Beer and wine in public parks would be just another small step for government, but one can hope that it is part of a new attitude. For any government, passing laws to stop things the party in power doesn’t like can be intoxicating, but it violates our right to be adults who are entitled to make their own decisions.

Personally, I think marijuana legalization is an invitation to be stupid, but we have a right to be stupid.

There is evidence that Ontarians have finally had enough of government that tries to micro-manage our lives according to its values. As the provincial Liberals examined the reasons for their devastating election loss, a former senior Liberal staffer posted this observation on Facebook: “For five years she (Kathleen Wynne) was the only face and the only voice of our government, and our message was often a scold, or advice about the way people should live their lives. Or some guidance on how they can become better people. And they were sick of it.”

It’s tough to argue with that assessment, and it ought to act as a warning to Trudeau’s federal Liberals, the government that just can’t stop chiding us for failing to live up to its standards.

The rules for where we can consume beer or marijuana are small things in the grand scheme, but we have ceded far too much control over our lives to government, and it always wants more. Our personal freedom is a valuable thing, and we’re long overdue to take some of it back.

— Randall Denley is an Ottawa political commentator and former Ontario PC candidate. Contact him at randalldenley1@gmail.com