Food Snob® wrote:

> A person between the ages of 18 and 20 is considered to have the
> judgement capacity to volunteer to get killed, maimed or be
> psychologically traumatized for the rest of his/her life by joining
> the military, but cannot legally buy a bottle of beer.

FWIW, when I was a teen the drinking age in Ontario was 21, but it was
18 in NY so we used to go "over the river" regularly, even though we
were under 18. There were several bars in downtown Niagara Falls NY
where we could drink without being asked for proof of age. The year
that I was to turn 21 the drinking age in Ontario dropped to 18. There
were a lot of bars in Niagara Falls that went out of business.

The drinking age in Ontario was raised to 19, but in NY it jumped to 21.
Now there is the exact opposite happening. The kids from NY are coming
to Ontario to drink.




> That instills
> a contempt for the law, as well it should. A better message would be
> that no one is going to get away with driving drunk, whatever their
> age. A middle path would increase penalties for *inexperienced*
> drivers--ones who have had their license for less than a specified
> number of years--who are caught driving drunk. The 21 YO drinking age
> is stupid.


Ontario has graduated licencing. You have to have a G1 (beginners)
licence for a year before you can do your road test for a G2 (8 months
if you take an accredited driving course). Then you have to wait another
year before you can get the full class G licence. Drivers with a G1 or
G2 licence must have zero blood alcohol.