The mayor of Fort Liard, N.W.T., says a planned curfew currently in the works will help children do better at school by getting them in bed earlier at night.

Wayne Newbury said the hamlet is proposing to enforce the new bylaw in mid-December, requiring all youth under the age of 16 to be indoors by 10 p.m. during the winter months, and by 11 p.m. in July and August.

The idea for a curfew arose when school officials raised concerns about children having trouble paying attention in class, Newbury told CBC News.

"We've been finding that a lot of younger children have been out late and we'd like to get them inside, especially for school purposes," Newbury said.

"The principal and teachers have approached myself … saying that the kids are showing up to school tired and unable to do their work."

Local business owner Eva Hope, whose native crafts store was robbed during the summer, said she hopes the hamlet's proposed bylaw will also curb youth crime.

"Young people threw a rock through the window on the door, and they reached in, and they opened the door and went in," Hope said.

"They stole some stuff, but we found them later and picked it all up with the RCMP."

But Newbury said youth crime and vandalism isn't a big problem in Fort Liard, a hamlet of about 600 located on the southwestern corner of the N.W.T.

Rather, he said the proposed curfew is a community effort focusing on what children need, rather than what property owners want.

"We're hoping that this will get them home and get them in bed at a decent time, and they'll be ready to learn things in the morning," he said.

It will be up to parents to ensure their children are home before curfew, or else face fines that begin at $50 for the first offence.