Fresh from liberalizing the public use of cannabis, Premier Doug Ford says it may be time to loosen restrictions on drinking alcohol in public.

Ford has amended the previous Liberal government’s policy on marijuana so that it can be smoked anywhere cigarettes can — except in cars and boats — when legalization kicks in next month.

On Friday, he expressed openness to allowing Ontarians to also enjoy beer or wine in parks.

“I hear John Tory’s all for drinking in the parks now,” the premier said, referring to the Toronto mayor’s comments Thursday that Ontario should modernize its booze laws.

“So I’m going to have to sit down with John and a couple of the other municipal ministers and get their input and consult about it,” said Ford, who himself does not drink alcohol.

“I don’t like people walking around getting drunk or smoking weed or any of that in a public area of a park. But again, I want to consult with our entire cabinet, especially consult with our Attorney General (Caroline Mulroney) and my Finance Minister Vic Fedeli,” he said.

“They’re both great ministers and I’ll dig deeper into that.”

Ford’s aides later clarified that the premier meant he was opposed to people smoking marijuana around “playgrounds” — rather than “parks” — out of concern for the safety of children.

Under changes announced by Mulroney and Fedeli on Thursday, cannabis will be subject to the same restrictions as tobacco and vaping in the Smoke Free Ontario Act, which prohibits consumption within 20 metres of playgrounds.

Municipalities are empowered to enact their own bylaws restricting smoking in other outdoor spaces, including parks, but the province still has authority over where alcohol can be consumed.

On Thursday, Tory said the marijuana change should spark movement on beer and wine use.

“I guess now it does probably prompt us to do something that I’ve talked about ... to say if people want to enjoy, which they seem to be doing, a glass of wine or a beer in a park, which I think most people are quite responsible enough to do, we should take look at that kind of thing as part of this continuation of the reform of our laws,” the mayor said.

Open alcohol offences are currently prosecuted under Ontario’s Liquor Licence Act, though Toronto police officers have discretion over whether to issue tickets that come with fines.

Tory pointed out Pride festival organizers received permission for revellers to drink alcohol on a stretch of Church St. “without the world coming to an end.”

At a campaign stop Friday, Tory’s main rival in the mayoral race told reporters she would also seek to legalize responsible park drinking.

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“Many Torontonians don’t have an issue with having a glass of wine in the park and we know that in cities all over the world this is pretty normal,” said Jennifer Keesmaat.

She also questioned why Tory didn’t act on the issue during his first four years as mayor.

Robert Benzie is the Star's Queen's Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie

David Rider is the Star's City Hall bureau chief and a reporter covering Toronto politics. Follow him on Twitter: @dmrider

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