Public health officials want say in Ontario’s $10M push for safe alcohol use

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London-area public health officials are demanding Queen’s Park allow their input into how $10 million in government funding is spent to mitigate alcohol-related harms.

Board members with Southwestern Public Health, which covers Oxford and Elgin counties, unanimously passed a motion Thursday requesting public health experts be involved in allocating the money for “social responsibility,” a measure to ensure safe alcohol sale and use.

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“I think that public health has a lot to offer in expertise around how to effectively and efficiently support health when it comes to alcohol harms and what the province is hoping for,” said Southwestern Public Health nurse Jacqueline Deroo.

When Ontario announced it was expanding alcohol sales to eligible convenience, big box, and grocery stores, it also committed $10 million during five years “to support social responsibility and public health efforts,” Southwestern Public Health’s statement said.

Deroo said she was “thrilled” by the government’s interest in contributing funds toward reducing harms concerning alcohol.

“The safe, responsible sale and consumption of alcohol in Ontario is and will continue to be a priority for the government,” said the office of Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, in a statement.

Ontario’s government would maintain “rigorous standards of social responsibility including maintaining employee training, minimum pricing, hours of sale and warning signs,” the statement said.

Minister of Health Sylvia Jones did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Also endorsed by Southwestern Public Health’s board at the meeting was support for a document outlining measures municipalities could implement to “reduce alcohol-related harms in their communities,” the statement said.

“Research shows that when people know more about alcohol-related harms, it increases general awareness about the risks and support for alcohol policies,” said a statement by Deroo in the release.

Some possible actions communities can take to reduce alcohol abuse outlined in the document include reduced access, less marketing and greater awareness of risks associated with alcohol consumption.

Deroo said informing the public about negative health effects corresponding to alcohol “through warning labels or signage” and “public campaigns” are options to educate the public. One such example Deroo provided was a lack of awareness that alcohol consumption causes cancer.

The health unit previously expressed dissatisfaction with the province’s decision to expand alcohol sales. In April, Southwestern Public Health sent a letter to Bethlenfalvy outlining its concerns with how alcohol was sold, due to evidence that alcohol abuse is more prevalent in Oxford and Elgin than it is provincewide.

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A Southwestern Public Health report indicated, in 2021, the alcohol-related death rate in Oxford and Elgin was 3.4 deaths for every 100,000 people, compared to Ontario’s 2.5 per 100,000. The report also found the number of people hospitalized for “conditions entirely attributed to alcohol” was 1.4 times higher in the region than across Ontario.

“After reviewing the report from Southwestern Public Health related to measurable impacts public health interventions have on alcohol harm-reduction, it is clear that public health needs to be at the table regarding how that funding can be utilized,” said board chair Bernia Martin, in a statement.

As many as 8,500 locations provincewide have been permitted to sell beer, wine, cider and ready-to-drink mixed cocktails since September.

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