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OPINION: Booze a menace

The sale of liquor, wine and beer in Ontario hit an all-time high in 2012-2013 for the 18th year in a row. Sales were $4.8 billion, up $182 million from the previous year, but for Northwestern Ontario that’s nothing to brag about.

The sale of liquor, wine and beer in Ontario hit an all-time high in 2012-2013 for the 18th year in a row.

Sales were $4.8 billion, up $182 million from the previous year, but for Northwestern Ontario that’s nothing to brag about.

However, alcohol abuse is something we should be talking about and the Thunder Bay District Health Unit is encouraging that discussion.

I applaud the efforts of all groups and individuals working to reduce the harm caused by problem drinking but we may already be past the talking stage.

The facts speak for themselves and there is an obvious sense of urgency to keep the discussions brief and take positive action.

The Health Unit is promoting a series of community forums to get the dialogue started and concerned citizens should have plenty to talk about.

They can discuss the fact that NWO is a hot spot for excessive drinking compared to the rest of the province (20.9 per cent  versus 17.1 per cent).

They can mull over the implications of the 27.6 per cent of local grade 7 to 12 students who were binge drinking within the last month.

They can visualize the sight of a 12- or 13-year-old pounding down the booze until they are stinking, staggering drunk.

Saying that this discussion is overdue is an understatement, but any positive steps will be overshadowed by the grim reality of money and politics.

The provincial government is also interested in starting a discussion about alcohol, but is taking a different direction altogether.

That discussion is led by a panel looking to increase liquor sales even further and has little regard for problem drinkers in our district.
We have to understand their motivation – Queen’s Park benefits from an annual liquor dividend of $1.7 billion, not to mention the sales tax.

Using booze profits to fund government programs is deeply ingrained in provincial government finances.

For an Ontario government deeply in debt and desperate for cash, more money from liquor sales and an even larger dividend from the LCBO is very tempting.

The panel recommends expanding retail sales opportunities to sell more booze - it is presented strictly as a consumer convenience.

Soon, if you get too hammered at home to drive you can just walk down the street to the nearest convenience store for a few more suds.

The panel also recommends a “click and collect” system which would allow consumers the convenience of shopping on line for exotic boozes from around the world.

No need for driving drunk to the liquor store – just hop in a cab and go fetch your favorite beverage.

It’s a win-win situation – consumers can safely feed their buzz on line or at the corner store while the Ontario government scoops up wads of cash.

Maybe if Thunder Bay buys and drinks enough booze, the province will make enough money to finance our new event centre.

There is a glaring contradiction between the province’s intention to increase the accessibility and sale of booze, and our regional alcohol abuse problem.

It must be frustrating for local groups to extinguish this problem while the provincial government actively adds more fuel to the fire.

Who among us hasn’t witnessed the devastation, the damage and the abuse caused by excessive drinking?

Alcohol breeds ­vi­o­lence, broken homes, injuries and death and contributes to heart disease, various cancers, depression, anxiety and suicide.

Fighting the menace of problem drinking in our community won’t be easy and it may take generations to turn this scourge around.

But if the direction taken by the Ontario government is any indication, it will be like running a marathon with your toes clenched.





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