"WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL ABOUT ALCOHOL?" Symposium
Why?
- Grey Bruce has the highest rate of heavy drinking in the province at 54%.
- This leads to lost productivity due to alcohol-related illness, premature death, disability and health benefit costs.
- Serving alcohol is risky business. Drinking leads to violence, sexual harassment, vandalism, theft and impaired driving.
- Drinking and driving in Grey Bruce has NOT decreased over the last six years.
- Five times every week, a Grey Bruce resident visits an emergency room due to alcohol intoxication.
- The province spends more on the harms ($2.4 billion) caused by alcohol than the revenues ($1.9-2.0 billion) generated by sales.
|
Does Grey Bruce want this distinction?
Do these facts affect how we live, learn, work and play?
As a community leader, you play an important role in addressing this culture of alcohol misuse. Protect yourself, your organization and your community from the hidden costs associated with alcohol sale, service and consumption.
Backgrounders
National Alcohol Strategy 
(2007)
A Public Health Approach to Alcohol Policy (2008)
Comparing the Perceived Seriousness and Actual Costs of Substance in Canada (2007)
Substance-Misuse Grey-Bruce Priority-Issues Strategic-Directions (2010)
Websites
APOLNET
National Institute of Alcohol and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA-USA)
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Gerald Thomas
Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse
Gerald Thomas is a Senior Research & Policy Analyst with the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse and a Collaborating Scientist with the Centre for Addictions Research of BC. He received his Ph.D. in political science from Colorado State University in 1998 and has worked in the area of Canadian alcohol policy since 2004. He served on the secretariat of the National Alcohol Strategy Working Group which created Canada’s first National Alcohol Strategy in 2007, and collaborated with Perry Kendall on A Public Health Approach to Alcohol Policy for British Columbia (2008).
Grey Bruce Healthy Communities Partnership
The Grey Bruce Healthy Communities Partnership is a partnership of over 25 community groups, citizens and leaders. We promote policies and other actions that will make it easier for people in Grey and Bruce Counties to live a healthy life.
We are funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion and Sport’s Healthy Communities Fund, Partnership Stream to improve health outcomes through the development of healthy public policies.
In 2010, we were asked by the Ministry to determine recommended local actions to address the following six priorities:
- Physical Activity, Recreation and Sport
- Injury Prevention
- Healthy Eating
- Tobacco Use/Exposure
- Substance & Alcohol Misuse
- Mental Health Promotion
- HC Framework - 2011-2012
Over the past year, the Grey Bruce Healthy Communities Partnership conducted a community assessment and consultation process in order to identify strategic program and/or policy priorities across the six key priority areas. Recommended actions were identified and focus placed on particular policy actions and activities.
For more information on the policy priorities and recommended actions see: HCP Community Picture
Executive Summary Feb 15 2011
The Grey Bruce Communities Partnership meets monthly to foster development of the Partnerhip and policy priorities. Membership continues to evolve. To support the engagement process of the broader community status reports are prepared and circulated.
Developing healthy public policies is the shared responsibility of individuals, communities, the private sector and governments. Health organizations and community organizations need to work together to understand the key determinants affecting the health of the community and develop healthy public policies accordingly.