Researchers behind the latest guidance on drinking alcohol want Health Canada to update findings on its website to inform the public about safe levels of consumption.
And federal Health Minister Jean-Yves agrees Canadians should have access to that “important piece of advice.”
The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) released a Health Canada-funded report in January that says scientific evidence from around the world suggests no amount of alcohol is safe and low-risk is defined as two drinks per week, instead of two drinks per day, based on its previously recommended limits from 2011. But the old information remains on the federal agency’s site.
Duclos said people need access to the latest, robust data online to make decisions about drinking and their well-being.
“I think every Canadian deserves to know what the experts believe,” he said in an interview. “In the end, it’s for people to decide. They need to have easy access to the type of information that matters to them.”
However, Duclos said he could not say if the site would be updated. He deferred to Mental Health and Addictions Minister Carolyn Bennett, but a spokeswoman for her said the minister was not available for comment.
In a statement, Bennett’s office said the government will “continue to engage Canadians on policies to address alcohol-related harms and to determine best approaches to disseminate information on risks related to alcohol use.”
“We believe it is essential to have this work done before proceeding to finalizing specific guidance tools and methods of communication.”
However, Bennett has not committed to mandating warning labels on alcohol containers, as recommended in the report. She said in February that she hoped the industry would voluntarily take on the labelling issue.
Dr. Peter Butt, who co-chaired the CCSA’s guidance project, said basic information should be provided by Health Canada to show the federal government’s support of the project it paid for.
“We’re talking about a cultural and political shift that doesn’t happen overnight. But you know, people would like to see the government do the right thing,” he said of replacing the old guidance, which set weekly limits at 15 standard drinks for men and 10 for women.
“I’m sure Health Canada is grappling with this as individuals did when the guidance came out,” said Butt, adding the evidence researchers considered raises multiple questions: “What do we need to do to respond to this? What’s our responsibility? And where do we land in terms of tolerating risk — politically and economically as opposed to the right thing to do?”
He called alcohol a “complicated commodity” in the way it is marketed, even as a potentially high-risk product that is linked to health conditions and rising health-care costs.
Butt also questioned Bennett’s stance on leaving the issue of warning labels to the alcohol industry.
“This is not providing any guidance whatsoever. This is just going to kick the can further down the road. And what do you think the tobacco industry would have done if they were told to voluntarily place labels on their packages of cigarettes,” said Butt, who is also a clinical associate professor at the University of Saskatchewan’s department of family medicine. His clinical and research work focuses on substance use disorders.
Wine Growers of Canada has said it is developing a QR code that could voluntarily be placed on alcohol containers to direct consumers to a site that warns about alcohol’s association with increased long-term risk of serious illness and potential negative effects on relationships.
Butt called that approach equivalent to “infomercials” on websites aimed at furthering the financial interests of the industry rather than providing consumers with the information they need directly on alcohol containers.
“Alcohol is no ordinary commodity. It has a history. It’s embedded in our culture. There’s an economy attached to it,” he said.
Dr. Tim Naimi, director of the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR) at the University of Victoria, said the latest guidance is based on scientific data and could be used to set policies, such as federal taxes, physical availability of alcohol and treatment interventions to minimize its harms.
“I certainly hope Health Canada will step up and play an active role in at least in this one aspect of improving things,” he said of the agency posting the CCSA’s updated guidance, for which he provided expertise.
Preliminary results of CISUR’s latest edition of the ongoing Canadian Alcohol Policy Evaluation research project, which assesses how well provincial and federal governments are implementing policies, show all 13 provinces and territories are selling alcohol at a loss, meaning taxpayers are subsidizing sales, Naimi said.
“There’s lots to be done in Canada with respect to improving people’s health and well-being with respect to alcohol. And I think the guidance is an important part of reshaping that sort of conversation. So, of course, I’m concerned that the word gets out.”
The previous guidelines were associated with health harms, said Naimi, adding: “I can’t really explain why (Health Canada) wouldn’t at least post the new ones.”
Catherine Paradis, interim director of the CCSA, who, along with Butt, directed the guidance project, said plans are underway to launch an awareness campaign to educate the public online, through doctors’ offices and various agencies about the risks related to drinking alcohol.
“We’re receiving tons of requests,” she said of interest from organizations including the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Liver Foundation.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 15, 2023.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
