May 2005

Ontario’s Alcohol Retail Distribution System

Arguably, the most prominent issue among the alcohol field at present is the proposed changes to the alcohol distribution system in Ontario. As described on January 11, 2005, the Ontario government appointed an expert panel to conduct a broad review of Ontario's beverage alcohol system and to develop recommendations on how to get more value from the system for both consumers and taxpayers.

Regrettably, the Premier refused a public health voice on the panel. This lack of input from the public health field causes great concern. In response to the Premiers decision, the Alcohol Policy Network (as a project of OPHA), along with seven other leading public health organizations, composed a joint submission to the review panel with recommendations to Ontario’s alcohol retailing system.

In addition to the joint submission, the Alcohol Policy Network collaborated with OPHA, CAMH, and ARAPO to organize Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity II in Toronto. This alcohol policy forum brought together health professionals, researchers, and government staff from across Ontario, to hear international, national, and local perspectives on changing the alcohol retail system.

The learnings from the day-long forum could be summed up into one clichéd phrase: "If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it." To explain, recent surveys by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) show most of consumers in Ontario oppose greater access to alcohol, which would be the case if the retail system was privatized allowing convenience stores to sell booze. From the gathering, it would be very safe to say "there was agreement it would not be a wise thing to expand access to corner stores... it would be at the risk of a long-term impact on health and social and labour costs" (Simmie, The Toronto Star, March 12, 2005).

The review panels’ final report to the government is due July 2005.

Warning Labels on Alcohol Containers

Dedicated MP Paul Szabo managed to get the topic of "Warning Labels on Alcohol Containers" back on the agenda in the House of Commons this past February, followed by a request for submissions and in-person presentations by members from the alcohol industry and leading public health organizations. The final decision not to approve the warning labels was announced recently.

Although many in the public health field view this as a defeat, this issue did result in the federal government demanding a comprehensive plan from Health Canada regarding prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), by June 2, 2005.

In related signage and FASD news, Sandy’s Law passed on February 1, 2005, which requires establishments which sell alcohol to post a pre-designed sign expressing the dangers of drinking while pregnant. Although the signage is not considered incredibly effective as a stand alone initiative – it appears to be a step in the right direction.

To this end, the Alcohol Policy Network is pleased to offer a teleconference focusing on the recent initiatives with signage and FASD on May 25, 2005 facilitated by Wendy Burgoyne of Best Start. Registration details to follow over the APOLNET listserv.