Alcohol (Motion #28-11)

 Moved by Spencer, Noland. Approved on May 19, 2011, by the Sudbury & District Board of Health.

Motion

WHEREAS on February 23, 2011, the Ministry of the Attorney General proposed changes to the Liquor Licence Act (LLA) including the removal of restricted areas for alcohol beverages at community festivals /events and the extension of alcohol serving hours at special events from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m.; and

WHEREAS in Sudbury, 84% of adults and 60% of teens (12 to 18 years of age) indicated they had consumed alcohol, which is significantly higher than for Ontario adults (79%) and teens (45%) and among current drinkers 12 years of age and over , 20% reported hazardous or harmful drinking in Sudbury, compared to the Ontario rate of 15%. (CCHS, 2007/08); and

WHEREAS each year alcohol puts this province in a $456 million deficit due to direct costs related to healthcare and enforcement (G. Thomas, CCSA); and

WHEREAS alcohol is causally related to over 65 medical conditions. The World Health Organization (WHO, 2011) has indicated that alcohol is the world’s third largest risk factor for disease burden and that the harmful use of alcohol results in approximately 2.5 million deaths each year; and

WHEREAS research strongly indicates that when alcohol is made readily available, consumption and associated problems increased; conversely when restrictions are on availability are in place, associated problems with alcohol use decrease. Thus the regulation of the physical availability of alcohol is one of the top alcohol policy practices in reducing harm (Barbor et al., 2010); and

WHEREAS the proposed changes to the LLA present the potential for substantial negative public health impacts on the health of our individuals and our communities; and

WHEREAS Boards of Health are mandated to work with municipalities and community partners to develop healthy policies and programs that address alcohol use;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Sudbury & District Board of Health petition the provincial Ministry of the Attorney General to consider the negative impact to existing healthy public policy in Ontario and to not proceed with the proposed changes to Ontario’s Liquor Licence Act; and

FURTHERMORE THAT copies of this motion be forwarded to all Ontario Boards of Health, provincial government partners and local members of provincial parliament, the Ontario Public Health Association (OPHA), and the Association of Local Public Health Agencies (alPHa).

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This item was last modified on June 12, 2015