Milestones in Alcohol Policy

Sources: Facts on Alcohol Policy Binder, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health; Alcohol Policy Update; Hot Issues, www.apolnet.ca, Alcohol Policy Network

1600-1900 | 1901-1940 | 1941-1960 | 1961-1980 | 1981-2000 | 2001- present

|1600-1900|

1648

First government initiative prohibiting liquor sales to aboriginal peoples introduced.

1787

Governor of Canada requires all applicants for liquor licences get written approval from parish priest and Captain of the Militia or Police.

1791

Sale of liquor to travelers using Ottawa River prohibited.

1840

First gallonage (excise) tax on Canadian spirits introduced.

1850

Applications for retail liquor sales licenses begin to undergo mandatory review.

1864

Dunkin Act in the United Province of Canada allows municipal councils to outlaw liquor sales within their jurisdiction provided that majority of electors were in favour of prohibition. Law soon repealed because it proves difficult to administer.

1878

Canada Temperance Act, also known as the Scott Act, extends local option to Dominion of Canada.

1890

Ontario passes Liquor Licence Act.

1898

English Canadians support Prohibition in plesbiscite, but Quebecers vote no. Laurier government takes no action.
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?
PgNm=TCE&ArticleId=A0006515

| 1901-1940 |  Top

1916

Ontario passes Temperance Act outlawing sale of alcohol except for medicinal or scientific purposes.

1918

Manufacture and importation of liquors with an alcohol content over 2.5% prohibited until a year after the war.

Quebec passes prohibition law. Following popular opposition and a referendum on the issue, the government excludes the sale of beer, wine and cider from the legislation in 1919.

1920

British Columbia votes to lift ban on liquor sales.

1921

Quebec government creates liquor commission to sell and control the quality of wine and spirits. In its first year, the commission establishes a quality control laboratory, opens 64 stores selling 383 products, employs 415 people and grosses $15 million in sales.

BC and Yukon begin selling some alcoholic beverages in government stores.

1923

Manitoba launches system of government liquor control and sales.

1924

Alberta and Saskatchewan launch government liquor stores.

1925

Newfoundland begins selling alcohol through government stores.

1927

Prohibition laws repealed in New Brunswick and Ontario. Policy of government control of liquor sales adopted. Ontario passes Liquor Control Act allowing beer to be sold through government stores, breweries and brewery warehouses; spirits to be sold through government stores and wine to be sold through government stores and stores operated by Ontario wine producers. New Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) becomes responsible for administering the legislation.

1928

Brewers Warehousing Ltd, now The Beer Store retail system, begins operating in Ontario.

Federal government passes the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act prohibiting the importation of liquors unless consigned through the government or a public liquor monopoly.

1930

Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation established to control off-premise alcohol sales.

1934

Liquor Control Act amended to allow hotels and clubs in Ontario to sell beer and wine with meals.

|1941-1960|  Top

1941

Ban on the sale of spirits abolished in Quebec.

1942

Wartime Alcohol Beverages Order prohibits the advertising of spirits, wine and beer and rations liquor importation and sales.

1943

January 13. First Ontario chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous established.

1944

March 13. Clause of Wartime Alcohol Beverages Order restricting beer sales and imports rescinded.

1946

Constitutional challenge to Canada Temperance Act unsuccessful.

Sale of spirits permitted in Ontario (along with beer and wine), if approved by plesbiscite in individual municipalities. Restaurants, taverns and public houses also allowed to sell beer, wine and spirits.

1947

Liquor Licence Act passed establishing Liquor Licence Board of Ontario.

The act allows licences to be issued for the sale of liquor with meals in dining lounges, the sale of beer and wine with meals in dining rooms, the sale of any alcoholic liquor in lounges and the sale of beer in designated public places.

1948

Ontario bars and lounges begin to serve liquor. Prince Edward Island allows alcohol sales.

1949

Addiction Research Foundation established in Ontario.

1951

Alcohol consumption is permitted in trailers or tents.

Alcoholism Foundation of Alberta, now the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission, established

1953

Beer parlors allowed to serve food in Ontario.

1956

Alcoholism Foundation of Manitoba established to provide services for treatment and rehabilitation of alcoholics, counselling, education, prevention and research.

1957

Permit cards allowing individuals to purchase alcohol for off-premise consumption replace liquor permit log books in Ontario.

| 1961-1980|  Top

1961

Quebec establishes early liquor licensing body, la Régie des alcools du Québec.

1962

Ontario Liquor Licence Act amended to broaden certain aspects of licensing and sale of alcoholic beverages. Liquor permit cards discontinued. Hours of sale for on-premise consumption extended to up to 12 hours per day.

Liquor Control Board of Ontario begins operating agency stores in remote tourist areas where no full-fledged store existed.

May 15. Provincial governments assume control for alcohol advertising.

1969

Self-service liquor stores introduced in Ontario.

1970

Unsegregated seating of men and women in licensed establishments allowed in Ontario. Previously, a man could enter licensed premises that served women only if accompanied by a woman. First self-service alcohol outlet opens in Sherbrooke, Quebec.

1971

July. Legal drinking age reduced in Ontario from 21 to 18 years of age. Mixed gender public houses permitted in Ontario. Special events such as fairs, festivals, winter carnivals, etc. eligible for liquor permit in Ontario.

Sales of 40 oz bottles of spirits allowed in Ontario. 26 oz was largest size available until then.

Duty free stores allowed to sell alcoholic beverages in Ontario.

Following the release of the Thinel Commission report, Quebec government creates two alcohol control bodies, one devoted to alcohol sales and marketing (la Société des alcools du Québec or SAQ), the other to license establishments selling and serving alcohol (la Commission de contrôle des permis d'alcool). http://www.saq.com

1973

Recreational facilities, theatres and university and college canteens now eligible for liquor licences in Ontario.

1975

Parents allowed to serve alcohol to minors in their own homes in Ontario.

Bottles with broken seal (partly consumed) allowed to be transported to any location in Ontario.

Alcohol Control Policies in Public Health Perspective, aka the 'Pink Book', reviews international research evidence and shows a link between average per capita alcohol consumption and a range of health and social problems. Kettil Bruun and colleagues from the Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies, The World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe and the Addiction Research Foundation of Ontario find that among the most effective methods of prevention are population-based alcohol controls such as taxes, prices and limits on alcohol sales and service.
http://alcalc.oupjournals.org/cgi/content
/full/35/2/217

1977

Reduce Impaired Driving in Etobicoke (RIDE) pilot project launched by the Addiction Research Foundation. Curbside driver testing program later expanded across Ontario under the name Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere.

1978

Quebec allows domestically produced and SAQ bottled wine to be sold in grocery stores.

1979

January 1. Minimum drinking age in Ontario raised to 19.

|1981-2000|  Top

1980

Thunder Bay becomes first city in Ontario to introduce a Municipal Alcohol Policy controlling the sales and service of alcohol on municipal property and at municipal events.
http://ctbpub.city.thunder-bay.on.ca/ctbappl/ctb_p
&p.nsf/0/ac6c43fc439de6a985256a32006a869e?OpenDocument

1982

Ontario drinking establishments allowed to lower drink prices at set times of the day ("happy hours").

1984

Happy hours banned in Ontario.

Wine coolers introduced in Ontario.

1985

Sprit coolers introduced in Ontario.

Privately-owned wine stores allowed in ALBERTA ONLY????

1986

Addiction Research Foundation introduces Server Intervention Program to educate managers and staff of licensed establishments and special occasion permit events about responsible alcohol sales and service.

U-brews allowed to operate in Ontario.

1988

Key Court Cases:
Liability- Sponsoring Dangerous Activities
Alcohol Service - Airlines

1989

April. New alcohol advertising guidelines introduced in Ontario. Guidelines specify that advertising should not promote alcohol consumption in general, appeal to youth or depict drinking in relation to driving or other activity requiring care or skill.

Mandatory server training required in all licensed stadiums in Ontario.

De-alcoholized beer introduced in Ontario. These products are not subject to controls on alcohol availability, advertising, etc. as they do not meet the legal definition of beer due to low alcohol content.

Domestically produced dry beer with an alcohol content of 5% or higher introduced in Ontario.

Cold beer stores established in ALBERTA ONLY???

Educ'alcool established in Quebec to organize prevention, information and education campaigns promoting the responsible consumption of alcohol. http://www.educalcool.qc.ca

1990

Key Court Cases:
Impaired Driving

Fall. Catering licenceholders required to take server training in Ontario.

September. Alcohol consumption allowed in boats and motor vehicles if parked and if equipped with eating and sleeping facilities in Ontario.

"Light" distilled spirits begin to be marketed in Ontario.

1991

Association to Reduce Alcohol Promotion in Ontario launched under the auspices of Black Creek Anti-Drug Focus Community Group. The first chair of ARAPO is the legendary community activist, Dr Ruth Morris.
http://www.gg.ca/Search/honours_descript_e.asp?
type=2&id=8113

1992

September. Beer and wine sales allowed in Ontario arenas and stadiums holding professional sporting events as long as these events do not involve motor vehicles.

Manitoba's Chief Medical Examiner attributes between four and ten deaths to the consumption of cooking wine. Province passes legislation to prevent the retail sale of cooking wine in excess of 20% alcohol, prevent sale to individuals who are intoxicated, broaden the definition non-potable alcohol to include items like Lysol and hair spray and establish minimum fines for individuals convicted of selling non-beverage alcohol for consumption.
http://www.mts.net/~infotext/History.htm

1993

Key Court Cases:
Social Hosting

May. Manitoba reduces price of fortified wines and introduces early morning openings of some retail liquor outlets to reduce the harm associated with drinking non-potable alcohol among Winnipeg's poor and homeless alcoholics.
http://www.mts.net/~infotext/History.htm

September. Alberta announces intention to privatize 204 Alberta Liquor Commission outlets. The process completed on March 5, 1994.

1994

Key Court Cases:
Sexual Assault

Credit cards for alcohol purchases allowed in Ontario and Quebec.

Supreme Court releases Daviault decision upholding defence used by a man convicted of assaulting an elderly woman in a wheelchair, that he was too drunk to know what he was doing. The "drunkenness defence" spawns heated debate and, eventually, a one-paragraph amendment to the Criminal Code outlawing its use as a defence for violent crimes such as rape and assault.
http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/csc-scc/en/
pub/1994/vol3/html/1994scr3_0063.html

Alcohol Policy and The Public Good published by the European Office of the World Health Organization. Among other things, Edwards et al. argue that: 1) alcohol misuse is a significant public health issue, 2) prevention measures that influence all drinkers will also have an impact on heavy or problem drinkers, 3) some policy measures are more effective than others - 'investing in relatively ineffective measures is wasteful and diversionary' , 4) community support is needed for any public health measure to be successful including population-based measures to control alcohol problems, and 5) there is no one policy panacea, rather "the needed policies will be a mix rather than a master stroke."
http://www.eurocare.org/publications/appg.pdf

1995

Key Court Cases:
Impaired Driving
Provider Liability
Workplace Liability

January 24: Madame Justice Ellen McDonald, Ontario Court (General Division) finds the Cross-Eyed Bear Tavern and the Malton Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, both in Etobicoke, partly responsible for the death to a customer who fell down a flight of stairs after consuming 18 to 21 drinks over a six-and-a-half hour period.

January 26. The Supreme Court of Canada releases Stewart v. Pettie decision. Justice Jack Major rules in the case, "There is no question that commercial vendors owe a duty of care to persons who can be expected to use the highways".
http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/csc-scc/en/
pub/1995/vol1/html/1995scr1_0131.html

March 6: Bill C-222, an act requiring warning labels on alcohol containers, passes first reading in the House of Commons.
http://www.parl.gc.ca/PDF/35/2/parlbus/chambus/house/bills/
private/C-222_1.pdf. It is referred to a subcommittee of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health for public hearings.
http://www.parl.gc.ca/committees352/sfda/minutes
/sfda_issue-01_1-6/sfda_01_minE.html. The bill subsequently dies on the Order Paper.

April. Ontario's Liquor Licence Act is amended to prevent Special Occasion Permits from being issued for events at premises with licences under suspension, or for events at unlicensed establishments whose licence applications have been refused for "public interest" reasons.

April 4. Alcohol and Gaming Authority established in Nova Scotia with the passage of Gaming Control Act that saw the merger of several related licensing bodies including the Nova Scotia Gaming Control Commission, NS Liquor License Board, NS Lottery Commission and the NS Amusements Regulation Board.
http://www.gov.ns.ca/aga/about.htm

May 25. Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) orders a Labatt Breweries commercial, "Joel's CD promotion," off the air because the actors look underage.

June. The Federal Court strikes down a regulation prohibiting distillers from broadcasting ads for products containing more than 7 per cent alcohol by volume. The ruling takes effect within 90 days. http://reports.fja.gc.ca/fc/src/shtml/
1995/pub/v2/1995fca0203.shtml

Alcohol Policy Network, a province-wide project of the Ontario Public Health Association, is formed.

Hospitality Industry Training Organization of Ontario takes over server training under the banner of Smartserve.
http://www.smartserve.ca Server Intervention Program (SIP) formerly managed by the Addiction Research Foundation discontinued.

September 13. Canadian distillers broadcast first responsible drinking message on the radio.

September 15. Bill C-72, a law preventing the use of extreme drunkenness as a defence in violent crimes, comes into force.
http://www.canlii.org/ca/as/1995/c32/part3886.html

September 22. A U.S. regulation passed requiring Canadian companies that dispatch drivers of commercial motor vehicles south of the border to have comprehensive policies regarding the use of alcohol and other drugs by employees. One of the more controversial aspects of the new regulations is the requirement for random drug testing. The law takes effect July 1, 1996 for Canadian firms with more than 50 drivers, and July 1, 1997 for smaller commercial vehicle companies.
http://www.dot.gov/ost/dapc/regulations.html
http://www.ontruck.org/testing/usataglance.php

December. Liquor ads begin to run in movie theatres in Ontario and Quebec.

1996

Key Court Cases:
Homicide
Excessive Force
Workplace Liability
Fetal Rights
Licencing Infractions

April 19. Possession of alcohol prohibited in two more provincial parks in Ontario: Dryden's Blue Lake and Kenora's Rushing River.

May 1. Liquor service extended to 2 a.m. in Ontario bars and restaurants; golf courses allowed to sell and serve alcohol in the playing areas.

May 7. Finance Minister Ernie Eves announces the creation of a Cabinet Committee to study the privatization of various public monopolies, including the Liquor Control Board of Ontario.

October 1. Sale of cooking wines in Ontario corner stores restricted to products with less than 20 per cent alcohol by volume.

Drinking/Driving Countermeasures Office at the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General closes. Responsibility for drinking and driving transferred to the Ministry of Transportation.

June 13. Ontario government announces the merger of the Ontario Gaming Control Commission and the Liquor Licence Board of Ontario into a new regulatory agency called the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. http://www.agco.on.ca Under an amendment to the Liquor Licence Act, the new Commission is given the power to impose a moratorium of up to 2 years on liquor licence applications at premises where the licence has been revoked on public interest grounds.

June 19. A comprehensive Canadian economic cost study reveals that alcohol-related problems cost Canadians some $7.5 billion annually, or an estimated $265 for every man, woman and child. The majority of the costs are attributed to injuries and lost productivity.

August 1. Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) releases new Code for Broadcast Advertising of Alcoholic Beverages and interpretation Guidelines.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/GENERAL/CODES/ALCOHOL.HTM

November 29. Ontario police begin handing out automatic 90 day licence suspensions to drivers who refuse to give a breath test or blow over the .08 legal limit. The only grounds for appeal of administrative driver's licence suspensions are mistaken identity and inability to provide a breath sample for medical reasons.

Ontario Public Health Association membership unanimously approves Promoting Healthy Communities - a position paper on alcohol policy and public health. OPHA believes that the cornerstones of healthy public policy with respect to alcohol are threefold: 1) effective controls on alcohol; 2) supportive environments, and 3) inclusive decision-making. http://www.opha.on.ca/ppres/1996-01_ppres.pdf

Ontario Human Rights Commission approves Policy on Drug and Alcohol Testing. http://www.ohrc.on.ca/english/publications/
drug-alcohol-policy.shtml

1997

Key Court Cases:
Impaired Driving
Sexual Assault
Workplace Liability
Employee Drug Testing
Fetal Rights
Alcohol Service - Airlines

February 1. New regulatory regime for broadcast alcohol advertising comes into effect in Canada. The Canadian Advertising Foundation, later renamed htt://www.adstandards.ca Advertising Standards Canada, takes over the pre-clearance of broadcast alcohol ads from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Communication. Bilingual clearance analysts working out of offices in Montreal and Toronto begin reviewing advertising copy to ensure it complies with the Code for Broadcast Advertising of Alcoholic Beverages.

February 17. Windsor City Council passes bylaw requiring alcohol servers within city limits to take a refresher alcohol service course periodically as a condition of the municipal business licence.

July 3. Bill 138, the Comprehensive Road Safety Act, 1997 receives royal assent. The act extends the licence suspensions for impaired driving to one year on the first conviction, three years on a second conviction and indefinitely on a subsequent conviction. To get their licences back, first time offenders must attend a mandatory education program; and second time offenders must undergo an assessment and education or treatment program at their own cost. Third time offenders may get an indefinite suspension reduced to 10 years by completing a remedial measures program and having an ignition interlock system installed on their cars. Fourth time offenders face a lifetime driving ban. Those caught driving while suspended could have their vehicles impounded for up to 6 months and be required to pay fines ranging from $5,000 to $50,000. Drinking driving convictions will stay on a driver's record for a minimum of ten years.
http://www.ontla.on.ca/documents/bills/36_parliament
/session1/G97138e.htm

August. LCBO and The Beer Store pilot Sunday shopping in Ontario.

July 10. Supreme Court releases Esau decision granting a new trial to Able Joshua Esau, an Inuvik man convicted of sexually assaulting a woman following a drunken party at her house in March 1994. The case reveals gender gap in Canada's highest court with five male justices ruling that the jury that found the defendant guilty should have been informed about the "honest but mistaken belief of consent" defence and the two dissenting female justices noting that the woman-a cousin of the accused-was too drunk to have consented and that Esau had been "willfully blind" to his victim's intoxication and lack of agreement.

Bill 142, The Social Assistance Reform Act becomes law. The act excludes persons with an alcohol or other drug-related dependency from receiving benefits under the new Ontario Disability Support Program Act and potentially, from receiving basic assistance under the Ontario Works Act. Specifically, the bill excludes those whose impairment is "caused by the presence in the person's body of alcohol, a drug or some other chemically active substance that the person has ingested, unless the alcohol, drug or other substance has been authorized by prescription as provided for in the regulations."
http://www.ontla.on.ca/documents/bills/36_parliament
/session1/B142rp.pdf#Bill_142

September 30 .The Addiction Research Foundation (ARF), Ontario's primary addictions agency, merges with The Donwood Institute, the Clarke Institute of Phsychiatry and Queen Street Mental Health Centre to form the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. The new agency is mandated to "fulfill a provincial role in addiction and mental health research, education and policy development."

October. Bill C-231, An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (warning labels regarding the consumption of alcohol) receives First reading
http://www.parl.gc.ca/36/1/parlbus/chambus/house/
bills/private/C-231/C-231_1/C-231_cover-E.html

November 14. LCBO introduces bottle-your-own wine pilot program enabling consumers to purchase lower priced domestic and imported wines they bottle, cork and custom label.

November 15. Government of Ontario prohits municipalities from unilaterally attaching conditions on the sale and service of alcohol to local business licences. Ontario regulation 379/97 reinforces the province's - and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission's - exclusive jurisdiction over alcohol regulation. This closes a loophole in the Municipal Act used by the City of Windsor to force local licensed establishments to take a refresher course in responsible alcohol service.

December 7. Ontario government lifts ban on year-round Sunday liquor sales at 594 LCBO outlets, 99 agency stores (enclosed kiosks within various types of stores, in communities too small to support a full-fledged liquor store) and 428 beer stores across the province.

The Brewers Association of Canada launches the first TV ad in the multimillion dollar Stand Up, Speak Out, Be Heard! campaign to educate young Canadians about responsible drinking. The ad, which features a series of scenes showing the consequences of risky drinking and the tune Feeling Alright.

October 29. The Addiction Research Foundation, soon to be the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the Association of Local Official Health Agencies and the Ontario Public Health Association release Ontario's new low-risk drinking guidelines (LRDGs) at joint press conference.

October 15. LCBO launches AIR MILES Reward Program.

November 30. Canadian Association of Broadcasters submits first mandatory annual report to the CRTC on alcohol education initiatives undertaken by Canadian broadcasters.

1998

Ontario Ministry of Health releases updated Mandatory Core Program and Service Standards for Public Health. The new standards identify three priorities for public health: the prevention of chronic disease and injuries, family health promotion and infectious disease control. Substance abuse prevention is woven throughout the guidelines, particularly in the section on injury prevention. Ministry sets goal of 20% reduction in the rate of alcohol and other substance-related injuries or deaths by 2010. In a bid to reduce the risks associated with alcohol and other drug use, it also includes as objectives to reduce the proportion of adult Ontarians who consume more than two drinks per day by 20% and to achieve a similar reduction over the coming decade in the rate of Ontarians who use illicit, non-medicinal and psychoactive substances.

February 23. Liquor Licence Board of Ontario and the Ontario Gaming Commission merge to form Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
http://www.agco.on.ca/en/a.about/a.about.html

March 1998 - Bill C-383, An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (warnings on alcoholic beverage containers) receives First reading
http://www.parl.gc.ca/36/1/parlbus/chambus/house/
debates/078_1998-03-23/han078_1505-e.htm.

June 29. Ontario Minister of Education and Training, Dave Johnson releases Ontario's new Health and Physical Education Curriculum for grades 1-8. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/curricul/health/healthe.html The document, which replaces sections of the 1995 Common Curriculum, is organized around three "strands:" 1) healthy living including healthy eating, growth and development, personal safety and injury prevention, and substance use and abuse; 2) fundamental movement skills including locomotion/ travelling, manipulation and stability; and 3) active participation including physical activity, physical fitness, living skills and safety. The sections on substance use and injury prevention will cover issues such as the effects and consequences of tobacco, alcohol, prescription and over-the-counter medications and illicit drugs; bullying, peer assault, child abuse, harassment and relationship violence, as well as seat belt use, first aid and bicycle, home, fire and sun safety.

Bill 57, An Act to amend the Liquor Licence Act in respect of brew on premise facilities becomes law. The bill, first introduced in the provincial legislature on June 25 by Consumer and Commercial Relations Minister David Tsubouchi, sets out a framework for regulating some 450 u-brew/u-vint premises across Ontario (people who make beer and wine in their own home are not covered). The bill enables the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) to suspend, revoke, attach conditions to or refuse to grant or transfer a brew-on-premise licence if the applicant fails to comply with various rules and regulations in the Liquor Licence Act, key among them refusing to provide service to persons who are or appear to be under 19 years of age. In addition to having to be licensed, brew-on-premise operators must comply with provincial advertising guidelines.
http://www.ontla.on.ca/documents/Bills/36_Parliament
/session2/B057_E.htm

Bill 25, Red Tape Reduction Act, 1998 becomes law. Among other things, the bill restricts the public interest provisions of the Liquor Licence Act by giving the AGCO greater leeway on how to deal with public concerns related to liquor licence applications. Specifically, Section 169(4) allows the AGCO to approve a liquor licence application if it considers the objections "frivolous or vexatious," defined by a Cabinet Minister in legislative debates as "objections from people who oppose liquor in general, those who are not area residents and other businesses."
http://www.ontla.on.ca/documents/Bills/
36_Parliament/session2/B025_E.htm

1999

Key Court Cases:
Air Rage

January 18. Federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans unveils new boating safety regulations requiring, among other things, minimum age limits for operators of personal water craft and power boats above 10 horsepower; mandatory operator competency requirements to be phased-in over 10 years for all operators of recreational power boats; and new minimum safety equipment and operation standards for all boaters.
http://www-comm.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/pages/release/
bckgrnd/1999/bghq99-2a_e.htm

January 23. Sudbury judge upholds he right of members of the Snowmobile Trail Officer Patrol (STOP) program to conduct spotchecks on Ontario trails. Justice Gilles Matte rules that the operation of a snowmobile does fall under the Highway Traffic Act, Motorized Snow Vehicles Act, as well as the Criminal Code of Canada. He also rules that spotchecks, while an infringement on personal liberty, were carefully controlled, reasonable and designed to protect and promote public safety. STOP is a collaborative program of the Ontario Provincial Police and the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Club funded in part by the Labatt Safe Trails Program.

January 28. Special Senate Committee on Transportation Safety and Security tables report recommending drug and alcohol testing in the transportation industry similar to the U.S.
http://www.parl.gc.ca/36/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/
Com-e/Saf2-e/press-e/28jan99-e.htm

February. Labatt fined $80,000 for failing to obtain the requisite regulatory approvals for a Budweiser promotion featuring a toy football emblazoned with the company logo.

February 16. Ontario begins impounding for a minimum of 45 days vehicles driven by persons who continue to drive while suspended for a Criminal Code offence. Vehicle owners are responsible for paying all towing and storage costs-$900 to $1,100 minimum. Impoundment yards have been set up across the province.

March 4. Ministry of Education and Training releases the new Ontario health and physical education curriculum for grades 9 and 10.
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/curricul/
secondary/health/healful.html
Among other things, it requires Grade 9 students to be able to: 1) identify facts and myths related to the use and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (e.g., cannabis); 2) explain the effects of the use and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs; 3) identify the major factors (e.g., environmental influences such as peer pressure, media influences, adolescent attitudes) that contribute to the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs; 4) identify the school and community resources involved in education, prevention and treatment with respect to alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs; 5) demonstrate and use both decision-making and assertion skills with respect to media influences and peer pressure related to alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs; 6) describe solutions and strategies to address violence in the lives of young people; and 7) demonstrate effective personal strategies to minimize injury in adolescence. Grade 10 students will be required to know the factors that lead to substance dependence; the physiological and sociological effects of substance use; and the legal aspects of substance use and abuse (e.g., underage drinking, impaired driving, the Tobacco Control Act).

May. Ontario Labour Relations Board rules in favour of International Union of Operating Engineers finding that workplace alcohol and drug testing policy enacted by Sarnia Cranes violated the collective agreement.
http://www.opseu.org/legal/legalupdate6.htm

May 25. Federal Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights releases Toward Eliminating Impaired Driving.
http://www.parl.gc.ca/InfoComDoc/36/1/JURI/
Studies/Reports/jurirp21-e.htm

Among other things, the report's
http://www.parl.gc.ca/InfoComDoc/36/1/JURI/
Studies/Reports/jurirp21/19-appe-e.htm
17 recommendations call for increased fines and sentences for impaired driving offences covered by the Criminal Code. On June 17, Bill C-82 http://www.parl.gc.ca/36/1/parlbus/chambus/house/
bills/government/C-82/C-82_3/C-82_cover-E.html
acting on some of these recommendations is passed in the House of Commons. http://www.parl.gc.ca/36/1/parlbus/chambus/house/bills/
government/C-82/C-82_1/90086bE.html#3.

June. LCBO and MADD Canada launch first joint outdoor social marketing campaign featuring images of crashed cars, sport utility vehicles, boats andsnowmobiles.

November. Ontario allows extended bar hours for Millenial New Year's Eve celebrations.

Federal government announces changes to the Excise Act requiring an operator of a ferment-on-premises facility to be registered, removing controls on the ownership of bulk spirits and wine, and introducing the concept of a "responsible person" liable for the duty on bulk spirits or wine.
http://www.fin.gc.ca/news99/data/99-036_1e.html

2000

March. CAMH releases first national survey of alcohol and other drug use on Canadian campuses.

Bill C-18, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (impaired driving causing death and other matters) becomes law. Among other things, it increases the maximum penalty for impaired driving causing death to life imprisonment.
http://www.parl.gc.ca/36/2/parlbus/chambus/house/
bills/government/C-18/C-18_3/C-18_cover-E.html

April. Ontario releases Code of Conduct
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/brochure
/conduct/conduct.html for Ontario students banning the presence, use and/or provision of alcohol or illegal drugs on school property. The Code is part a comprehensive initiative to promote safer schools outlined in Bill 81, Ontario's Safe Schools Act.
http://www.ontla.on.ca/library/bills/81371.htm

December. Bill 101 An Act to Promote Snowmobile Trail Sustainability and Enhance Safety and Enforcement receives Royal Assent. http://www.ontla.on.ca/library/bills/101371.htm

CAMH releases Position Statement and Background Paper on Mandatory Drug Testing and Treatment of Welfare Recipients, Nov. 2000.

Ontario Legislature passes Bill 131: Highway Traffic Amendment Act (Ignition Interlock Device), 2000, a Private Member's Bill championed by Conservative MPP, Garfield Dunlop. The new law introduces a comprehensive ignition interlock program for convicted impaired drivers in Ontario.
http://www.ontla.on.ca/library/bills/131371.htm. Amendment to Criminal Code enabling provinces to mandate ignition interlocks for drunk drivers convicted of a Criminal Code offense introduced the following year. http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/news/nr/2001/doc_28047.html

|2001- present|  Top

2001

Key Court Cases:
Workplace Liability

February 5. Ontario Superior Court Justice J. Marchard awards $300,000 in damages to Linda Hunt. Ms Hunt suffered permanent brain damage as a result of losing control of her vehicle and crashing into an oncoming car after becoming drunk at an office party and local pub.
http://www.filion.on.ca/pdf/caselaws/new007.pdf

March 15. Ottawa introduces new procedures to deal with impaired driving by foreign diplomats following the death of two Ottawa-area women. Diplomats suspected of dunk-driving will have their driver's license suspended for a year after a first impaired driving incident and will be expelled for a second violation, or if they cause injury or death while impaired.

A landmark ruling has found a couple liable after a party at their home. View related articles: Parents liable in drunken crash (Canada Press) and Parents found responsible for teen guest's drunken crash (Neal Hall, Vancouver Sun). (Mar. 17, 2001).

April. House of Commons approves Motion 155 to include graphic warnings on alcohol containers.
http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/1/parlbus/chambus/house/
debates/044_2001-04-05/han044_1730-e.htm

July 3. AGCO takes over regulation of Private Alcohol Delivery Services from the LCBO.
http://www.agco.on.ca/en/b.alcohol/b9.liquordelivery.html
ALSO INTERNAL LINK TO APN/ARAPO paper

December 21. Bill 144: Corrections Accountability Act, 2000, enabling drug and alcohol testing for offenders within the Ontario correctional system receives royal assent.
http://www.ontla.on.ca/library/bills/144371.htm

December. Ontario Minister of Consumer and Business Services announces first stage of major expansion of LCBO agency store system.
http://www.cbs.gov.on.ca/mcbs/english/55LSMP.htm

2002

Key Court Cases:
Social Hosting

May. Bill C-464 introduced in the House of Commons. If passed, the bill would reduce the legal Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) in the Criminal Code to .05mg%.
http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/1/parlbus/chambus/house/
bills/private/C-464/C-464_1/C-464TOCE.html

June. Alberta amends Gaming and Liquor Act to make it an offence to allow an intoxicated person to gamble.

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health releases position paper and best advice on impaired driving. Among other things, CAMH supports MADD Canada's call for legal Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) under the federal Criminal Code to be reduced to .05 mg%.

August. Ontario Superior Court of Justice finds social hosts, Julie Zimmerman and Dwight Courrier, partly responsible for injuries sustained by Zoe Childs but declines to hold them liable for reasons of 'policy'. Ms Childs was rendered a paraplegic after being involved in a collision with a drunk guest who drove after drinking at a BYOB party held at the defendants' house.
http://www.law.uvic.ca/eadjinte/108c/documents/
Childsetal.doc

August 29. Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario relaxes Alcohol Advertising Guidelines by no longer requiring ads to be pre-approved prior to airing, enabling manufacturers to donate alcohol to charities holding a Special Occasion Permit, allowing alcohol as a prize at licensed raffle events, eliminating restrictions on the alcohol content of beverages sold at stadiums and allowing banquet halls to offer food and alcohol packages. http://www.agco.on.ca/pdf/Non-Forms/9001B.e.pdf

October. changes to the Ontario Liquor Licence Act take effect including: 1) Ontario Liquor Licensing Changes:

Information Bulletin- Liquor License Act Regulatory Changes and
Questions and Answers, Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (Aug. 2002);
OPHA Letter to Minister Hudak (Aug. 17, 2002);
and, Minister of Consumer and Business Affairs'Response (Sept. 2002)

AGCO Info Bulletins:

Regulatory Amendments and Advertising Guidelines for Sampling Purposes;
Donating Liquor to Charities Holding Special Occasion Permits (Nov. 29, 2002)

Policy for the new millennium:

Working together to redefine Canada's drug strategy Interim report of the special committee on non-medical use of drug (Dec. 2002)

2003

April. Winnipeg MP, Judy Wasylycia-Leis launches national petition to get warning labels on alcoholic beverages.

May 27. Federal Government renews Canada's Drug Strategy.
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/media/speeches/
27amay2003mine.html

June. AGCO announces changes to Regulation 719 of the Liquor Licence Act.

August 1. Updated alcohol advertising regulations for licensees and SOP eventholders issued by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. New requirements for notifying the public about a new liquor licence application take effect.

August. Advertising Standards Canada releases new interpretation of sections of the CRTC Alcohol Advertising Code dealing with youth role models, following public outcry about the appearance of Hockey Night in Canada personality, Don Cherry, on Molson' 'Bubba' ads. http://www.adstandards.com/en/clearance/
alcoholClearanceBulletin.asp

Latest issue of Licence Line reviews recent changes to Ontario Liquor Licence Act (Sep 16, 2003)

Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity-Research and public policy by Babor et al. published. This landmark book includes epidemiological data on the global burden of alcohol-related problems and reviews reviews the latest scientific evidence for strategies designed to prevent or minimize alcohol-related harm. http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~sjp22/addiction/add520.pdf

2004