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It Starts Here: KFL&A Public Health jump starts conversation about alcohol in our community with release of Alcohol Report kcoughlar@perfprint.ca
EMC News – The findings are in. Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington Public Health is set to launch its Alcohol Report Monday. Over the course of the last year or so, information has been gathered from local hospitals, police services, and provincial and national surveys to help paint a picture of the culture of alcohol use in society. It Starts Here, a report on Alcohol in the City of Kingston is intended to jump start the conversation on alcohol use in our community and examine its impact on both individuals and the community at large. It also asks how we as a community can create conditions where alcohol use is only a part of our good times. Helping to launch this report will be Ann Dowsett Johnston, an awardwinning Canadian journalist, and 2011 recipient of the Atkinson Fellowship in
Public Policy. Dowsett Johnston will serve as the launch event’s keynote speaker. Her 14 years covering education at Maclean’s magazine, specifically its annual University Rankings from 1992 to 2005, saw Dowsett Johnston develop an interest in the evolving culture of alcohol use in our society. “I began to notice that there were a lot more articles on the fact that young women, especially at university, were drinking more than they had in previous times,” Dowsett Johnston explained, adding that she noticed this first-hand while covering the Aberdeen Street party of 2005. “I was curious about it.” That curiosity led her to the Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy, an annual competition which provides a grant for a Canadian journalist to commence a yearlong research project on a topical public policy issue. Her 2011 fellowship culminated in a 12-part series on women and alcohol. “There was such a huge
response to the series that I decided to do a book… I’m now writing a major international book on girls, women and alcohol which will come out next September,” she said. Dowsett Johnston said she will focus her talks Monday on three things: “We know a lot about tanning beds and Trans Fats but we know very little about the health implications of our favourite drug. We don’t know that it’s the source of 50 diseases… We’re pretty blindfolded when it comes to our favourite drug. That’s No. 1” She said she will also look at the marketing of alcohol, and perhaps most importantly she will ask the audience whether they have an opinion on whether or not we, as a society, are going about alcohol the right way. “I’m not a prohibitionist by any stretch of the imagination, but I do believe that we haven’t had enough of an open dialog about alcohol in our society...Do we, for instance, really think the LCBO should be mar-
keting; should it be printing those glossy, expensive brochures? Yes or no?...I just don’t believe we’ve had an open dialog about alcohol the same way we have about all sorts of things in our culture.” Dowsett Johnston said she believes we, as a society, have conflicted values around alcohol, which has prevented us from having this open dialog. “We tend to use alcohol to relax, to reward, to celebrate. What we don’t talk about is that we also use alcohol to numb, to forget, to be blind toward problems in life,” she said. She added that people also often tend to think that the person who has trouble with alcohol is that one individual on the street corner with a brown bag in hand. Yet, if you were to ask a room full of people to raise their hand if their life has ever been affected by alcohol or someone who has gotten into trouble with alcohol, every person in the room would raise their hand. That being said, we here
in Canada don’t treat what Dowsett Johnston describes as our “most common” and “most favourite” drug the same way that other countries do. “We don’t go about it, for instance, the same way as Sweden where no one drinks and drives because there are random breath tests. We don’t go about it the same way as the U.S. where the drinking age is 21.” We need to ask ourselves if we are happy with the status quo, she said. KFL&A’s Alcohol Report will help the community answer that question. “We have a chance to have an opinion about it as a public if we know the details…you can’t do anything without data. It’s like a good budget: You don’t know what to spend on rent if you haven’t bothered to look at your salary.” Dowsett Johnston commended Kingston and KFL&A Public Health for leading the way and taking on this initiative. “I think that Kingston is to be applauded…because
this the level at which you can make a difference,” she said. Dowsett Johnston will present Our Love Affair with Alcohol: How a Fairy Tale Romance Blocks Strong Policy and How Media Can Help during an evening public forum Monday Nov. 5, 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Davies Hall at St. Lawrence College.
www.City of Kingston.ca ACCESS AWARD
Do you know a person or an organization who has made Kingston more accessible? The City, in partnership with the Municipal Accessibility Advisory Committee (MAAC), is accepting nominations for the International Day of Persons with Disabilities Access Award. This award recognizes a person, group or organization that has made (within the last three years), or is making a significant contribution beyond legislated requirements towards improving access for persons with disabilities in Kingston. Access can include designing new or renovated buildings, an employment program, a transportation system, a recreational or leisure program, or anything that contributes significantly to persons with disabilities living independently. Nomination forms are available at www.CityofKingston.ca/accessaward and can be submitted by 4 p.m. on November 5, 2012 to: City of Kingston, Clerk’s Office Attention: International Day of Persons with Disabilities Access Award By Mail: 216 Ontario St., Kingston, Ontario K7L 2Z3 In-Person: 216 Ontario St. By Fax: 613-546-1899 By E-mail: accessibility@cityofkingston.ca
MEETINGS Thursday, Nov. 1 Monday, Nov. 5
5:30 p.m. Nominations Committee 6:30 p.m. Planning Committee 1 p.m. Municipal Heritage Committee If you are a person with a disability and need accessibility information about a City of Kingston service or facility – or, if you require information in an other format – contact 613-546-0000 weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or e-mail contactus@cityofkingston.ca.
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By Kristen Coughlar
CHANGE YOUR CLOCKS, BATTERIES Kingston Fire & Rescue reminds citizens to change smoke alarm batteries and carbon monoxide (CO) alarm batteries when changing clocks back to Standard Time on Sunday, Nov. 4. Fire Inspector Tracey LeBlanc says ‘in order to safely escape a residential fire, it is critical to have a home escape plan and working smoke alarms to provide occupants with early warning.’ Battery and electric smoke alarms, as well as carbon monoxide alarms must be tested monthly to guarantee that they work properly. Always use new batteries in detectors and press the ‘test’ button to confirm the devices are operational. Smoke alarms and CO alarms have a maximum ‘life expectancy’ of up to 10 years and should be replaced as per the manufacturers’ instructions. It is the law in Ontario to have properly working smoke alarms on every level of your home and outside sleeping areas. Disabling smoke alarms and non-compliance with the Ontario Fire Code smoke alarm requirements can result in a ticket of $235 or a fine of up to $50,000 for homeowners, tenants, and individual landlords or up to $100,000 for corporations.
YARD WASTE COLLECTION It’s that time – Leaf collection has started! View your fall collection calendar online by visiting: www.cityofkingston.ca/yardwaste. • Collection may take place on any day during your collection week. • Place your leaves and yard waste (like vegetable garden waste and small twigs) at the curb in brown paper (kraft) yard waste bags, or loosely in rigid-sided, open top containers such as garbage cans or bushel baskets by 8 a.m. on the Monday of your collection week. The Kingston EMC - Thursday, November 1, 2012
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