As questions arise about why liquor and cannabis stores were deemed essential services during pandemic lockdowns, Dan Malleck will give a public talk exploring the history of government regulation of alcohol.

The Director of the Centre for Canadian Studies and Associate Professor with the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences will give a free public lecture on “Controlling the Essentials” on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m.

Malleck’s talk will explore reactions to government restriction of alcohol and how various attempts at prohibition resulted in bigger problems than they were intended to solve.

The online talk, hosted by the St. Catharines Public Library, is free but preregistration is required.

Brock Talks is an ongoing collaboration between the Faculty of Humanities and the St. Catharines Public Library. The series features six talks from September to April.