Toronto has a way of irreverently disregarding spring. Oftentimes we go from winter right into summer. And this past weekend was one of those magical times when summer just appeared and Torontonians far and wide decided to showcase their pasty bodies after a long and dark winter.

But now that the warm weather is upon us, it's important to keep in mind a few very important things. Don't ride an electric scooter. They're too dangerous. You might hit a car.

Make sure you use the washroom before leaving home. Most public washrooms aren't open yet because peeing season obviously hasn't started yet. I think it starts sometime in late May. Or maybe it's early June.

Purchase all of your alcohol beverages from the liquor control board. That's the safest way to do it. And whatever you do, don't consume said alcohol beverages in any of the city's public spaces. That is strictly forbidden.

If you have a backyard, that is an acceptable place to drink responsibly, or irresponsibly. But if you don't have a backyard, you're out of luck. I would encourage you to simply crack a window and linger next to it. But of course, be mindful not to get too close to it.

I don't know why we're so uptight about shit.

There has been no shortage of prognostications about the demise of cities, offices, and a bunch of other things, as a result of this pandemic. And by now, a lot of you probably know that I think most of this is overblown. I worked in the office today, did things on my three-screen setup, and had a burrito for lunch. It was lovely. But here are a few things that I do believe will happen: Canada will continue to relax its alcohol laws in the wake of this pandemic, most if not all of these relaxations will stick after we get through this, and city life, believe it or not, will be just fine.

Earlier this month, the City of North Vancouver council voted 6-1 in favor of allowing alcohol consumption in some parks and some public spaces this summer. The mayor believes that they are the first city in BC to pass such a bylaw and I reckon that they are among the first in Canada (Quebec is generally the most chill). One of the justifications for this change is that about 80% of residents in North Vancouver live in a multi-family dwelling. And so this is a way for people, who don't have backyards, to have a civilized drink on some grass.

Will our puritanical province follow suit? My bet is yes.

This morning I was reading a snippet about Hong Kong changing its drinking laws in order to curb “Club 7-Eleven” and it made mention of the “country” being the freest economy in the world according to the Heritage Foundation.

I was immediately curious and so I looked up their 2018 Index of Economic Freedom. Below are the top 10 countries. Apparently Hong Kong has been #1 for the last 24 consecutive years.

The Heritage Foundation describes economic freedom as “the fundamental right of every human to control his or her own labor and property.” 

And to measure this they look at 12 aspects of economic freedom, which are grouped into the following 4 categories: rule of law; government size; regulatory efficiency; and market openness.

If you’re really keen, there’s also this free book that was published alongside the 2018 index. But come to think of it, this index appears to have very little to do with lax alcohol laws.