Our Medical Officer of Health doesn’t agree with the proposed changes to the Ontario liquor act.
Dr. Hazel Lynn says allowing people to walk around festivals with open alcohol will cause more physical and social harm.
Lynn says there’s evidence that increased accessibility, visibility and availability will increase the use of it — and she says that’s not something Grey-Bruce needs, as it already has higher than average alcohol consumption rates.
She’s particularly concerned about exposing younger people to alcohol because she says research shows that kids will model adults in their behaviours toward alcohol use.
Lynn doesn’t want kids to think it’s “normal” to always drink wherever they are.
She also believes it will cause more social problems as certain people become more violent and easily irritated when they consume alcohol.
As for the argument that it will draw more people to festivals and increase tourism dollars, Lynn’s not buying it.
She says they’ll need more servers and security at the event and in the end it probably won’t amount to much of a profit.
Lynn and several other Health Units around the province have sent letters to Attorney General Chris Bentley.
She hopes the government will take a closer look at the legislation and who it affects before implementing any changes.
