guidelines

Thursday January 19, 2023

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday January 19, 2023

Health Canada recommends limiting alcohol to just 2 drinks per week

January 16, 2019

New alcohol guidelines recommending that Canadians limit themselves to just two drinks a week – and ideally cut alcohol altogether – have prompted intense debate over risk versus enjoyment in a country where the vast majority of adults regularly consume alcohol.

The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) this week called for a substantial reduction in consumption, warning that seemingly moderate drinking poses a number of serious health risks, including cancer, heart disease and stroke.

The new guidelines, funded by Health Canada, represent a dramatic shift from previous recommendations issued in 2011, when Canadians were told that low-risk consumption meant no more than 10 drinks a week for women and 15 drinks a week for men.

“We wanted to simply to present the evidence to the Canadian public, so they could reflect on their drinking and make informed decisions,” said Peter Butt, a professor of family medicine at the University of Saskatchewan and a member of the panel that drafted the guidelines. “It’s fundamentally based on the right to know.”

September 24, 2015

In its measurements, the CCSA considers a standard drink to be a 12oz (355ml) serving of 5%-alcohol beer, a 5oz (148ml) glass of 12%-alcohol wine or a shot glass of 40% spirits.

In the UK, the NHS recommends no more than six 6oz glasses of wine or six pints of 4% beer per week – ideally spread across three days or more. Health officials in the United States recommend no more than two drinks per day for men and only one for women.

But Canadian experts say that new research suggests three to six drinks a week should be considered moderate risk for both men and women, and seven or more drinks a week is high risk. In addition to elevated risk of colon and breast cancer, as well as heart disease and strokes, the CCSA also identified both injuries and violence as negative outcomes from drinking alcohol.

“This isn’t about prohibition. This is simply about reducing the amount one drinks,” said Butt.

The guidelines also warn that no amount of alcohol is safe when pregnant or trying to get pregnant. While abstinence during breastfeeding is the safest option, a standard drink occasionally does not significantly elevate risk.

June 26, 2009

The new guidelines were met with skepticism by some health experts.

“This type of research often marginalizes other considerations of health and wellbeing from alcohol,” said Dan Malleck, a professor of health sciences at Brock University.

“With their job as the Canadian Center on Substance Abuse and Addiction, there’s no space in there for considering there might be benefits. Their job is to find harm.”

Malleck described the guidelines as “irresponsible”, and said they risk creating “anxiety and stress” among Canadians who once saw themselves as moderate drinkers but now occupy a “high-risk” category.

“The research they’re using also ignores the enjoyment and pleasure and stress relief and collegiality associated with alcohol. None of those things are in the calculation whatsoever,” he said. “We aren’t just machines with inputs and output of chemicals or nutrition. We actually exist in a social space. And that has a significant impact on our health.”

Others, however, see the guidelines as an attempt to help Canadians better understand the realities of alcohol consumption. (The Guardian) 

 

Wednesday April 7, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday April 7, 2021

So tired of the Pandemic

November 27, 2020

Folks, just because you’re legally allowed to go into malls doesn’t mean that you should go into malls — especially not for the purpose of “doing a little wander around” and leaving without shopping bags.

I mean, if you’re going to literally risk your life by entering the jam-packed Yorkdale Shopping Centre or Eaton Centre amid a pandemic, you should at the very least stimulate the economy while you’re at it.

This is just common sense, or so it appears to be in the eyes of Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who on Tuesday went off on the many people who flocked to malls in and around Toronto this past weekend, as they were fully permitted to do under existing lockdown rules.

As many on Twitter are now pointing out in the wake of Ford’s comments, consumers weren’t necessarily being irresponsible on purpose by going to malls this weekend: Current shutdown rules still permit shopping centres to operate at 25 per cent capacity. (blogTO)  

April 1, 2021

Meanwhile, more than 30,000 people attended the Texas Rangers home opener Monday against the Toronto Blue Jays, in the first major, full-capacity sporting event in the U.S. in more than a year.

The Rangers announced a sellout crowd of 38,283 tickets sold for their 2021 home debut at Globe Life Field in Arlington, where Toronto scored a 6-2 victory.

Masks are mandated inside the new ballpark, though pictures from Monday’s game showed many spectators not wearing them.

One noted fan not in attendance Monday was Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who declined to throw the ceremonial first pitch because Major League Baseball moved its All-Star Game out of Atlanta in protest of Georgia’s move to restrict voter access.

The $1.2 billion Arlington stadium, which has a retractable roof and a listed capacity of 40,518, was the site of 30 Rangers homes games in 2020, a truncated campaign that did not allow fans inside. (NBC)  

July 18, 2020

Meanwhile, a Leamington restaurant is defying the provincial COVID-19 shutdown orders and remaining open for in-person dining.

Kristy Leathem, the owner of Family Kitchen at 73 Erie Street South, says her doors have been open for dine-in restaurant during regular business hours since February.

“If Walmart down the street can remain open at 50 per cent capacity why can’t I?” said Leathem.

Her establishment has a capacity for 100 people, but Tuesday morning she said she had about 50 customers.

She says she is not planning on exceeding capacity rules at 50 per cent, but wants a more even playing field when it comes to rules for the shutdown.

Ontario issued a province-wide emergency brake shutdown on Thursday. Under the new rules, restaurants are prohibited from in-person dining and are allowed to be open for takeout and delivery only. (CTV)  

March 11, 2021

Meanwhile, Ontario is reporting 3,065 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, bringing the provincial total to 367,602.

Tuesday’s case count is higher than Monday’s which saw 2,938 new infections. On Sunday, 3,041 new cases were recorded and 3,009 on Saturday.

According to Tuesday’s provincial report, 955 cases were recorded in Toronto, 561 in Peel Region, 320 in York Region, 165 in Ottawa, 132 in Niagara Region, 128 in Hamilton, 119 in Halton Region and 101 in Durham Region.

All other local public health units reported fewer than 100 new cases in the provincial report.

The death toll in the province has risen to 7,458 as eight more deaths were recorded. (Global) 

 

Wednesday March 31, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday March 31, 2021

We need a blueprint for the next pandemic

It’s a damning indictment. On Thursday, Canada’s auditor general released a report that finds Canada’s public health and border control authorities did a poor job at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

March 4, 2021

Systems didn’t work as planned. Updates and monitoring were not carried out in spite of ample warnings being given, particularly to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). There were recommended changes that were ignored, literally for decades. The country’s vaunted pandemic early-warning system didn’t work properly. There were shortcomings in how the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and PHAC responded, so border restrictions were not applied consistently, which hindered attempts to stop the virus from spreading.

Auditor general Karen Hogan pulled no punches as she assessed weaknesses in the government’s early responses to COVID in the first six months of the pandemic. 

January 7, 2021I 

None of this should come as a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention. Canada’s federal public health bureaucracy was slow and inept to begin with, and didn’t find its feet until the pandemic was already well underway. To be fair, that was the case in many other countries around the world. Almost without exception, the ones that were better prepared fared better in terms.

Does the fact that Canada was in good company make a difference? Arguably, yes. Scientists have been warning the world about the next pandemic since the last pandemic. And collectively, the world paid lip service to the warnings, for the most part. 

August 15, 2008

For those who like to see heads roll and blame assigned, who should we be pointing at? Presumably, public health and border service leadership at the time. The buck always stops at the government, so the Trudeau Liberals get some of the blame, too. 

January 31, 2014

There is an election coming soon, and those who want to send a message can vote for a different party if that helps. But keep in mind that the most likely alternative, the Conservatives, were in power for much of the time the warnings were being sounded, and they did little or nothing, like the Liberal government before them.

March 30, 2021

The auditor general’s mission is not a witch hunt. Her criticism and observation are of critical importance, not so we can assign blame, but so we can make sure we do this a lot better the next time a pandemic comes knocking, as we know it will.

And there is another aspect of accountability and blame to consider. Governments don’t tend to do things in the face of overwhelming public opposition. Had there been tremendous pushback when the Mulroney government privatized Canada’s largest domestic vaccine manufacturing lab, or when cuts to research and development by the Harper government led to other pharmaceutical companies packing up and moving to friendlier climates, those things would not have happened. Those things were not big priorities to the average Canadian at the time, otherwise they would not have happened.

Now, with hindsight, we know how much better off Canada would have been had those things not happened. And now, if we want different outcomes, we can demand different things. We must have a domestic vaccine industry. We must have unfettered access to all sorts of PPE. We must have proactive policy and bureaucratic measures in place so all the things that went wrong this time don’t go wrong the next time.

It will not be cheap or easy. It will not work with a small government that wants the market to drive everything. Preparing for future pandemics demands government, industry and business buy-in and collaboration. We can have that if we want it, or we can take our chances. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial)

Octopus sketching is such a joy!

 

Friday February 5, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday February 5, 2021

Proud Boys: Canada labels far-right group a terrorist entity

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said the decision was influenced by the group’s “pivotal role” in the 6 January riots at the Capitol in Washington, DC.

The designation allows the Proud Boys’ assets to be frozen, and members of the groups could be charged with terrorist offences if they commit violent acts.

The group is all-male and anti-immigrant, and has a history of violent political confrontations.

It was founded in 2016 by Gavin McInnes, the Canadian co-founder of Vice Media. Vice has since worked to distance itself from Mr McInnes and the Proud Boys.

The Proud Boys’ platform includes ideas espoused by former US President Donald Trump, libertarianism and traditional gender roles.

The group was mentioned by Mr Trump during the first US presidential debate last October.

July 11, 2019

Responding to a question about white supremacist and militia groups, he said, “Proud Boys – stand back and stand by”, which members of the group online took as a call to prepare for action. Mr Trump later distanced himself from them.

The announcement in Canada comes one week after the US Department of Homeland Security warned of a “heightened threat” of domestic terrorism from violent extremists unhappy with the outcome of the presidential election. 

And just hours after the announcement, the US Justice Department announced it had arrested and charged a top member of the group’s Seattle chapter. Ethan Nordean, 30, who is also known as Rufio Panman, is at least the eighth group member to be charged in connection with the Capitol riots. 

In Canada on Wednesday, Mr Blair described a “growing threat of ideologically motivated violent extremism”. He did not specify how many Proud Boy chapters are currently in Canada.

The Canadian Proud Boy groups had previously been thought of as disparate and disorganised, but the new designation suggests their perceived threat has been elevated. 

The decision was made based on “a trove of new information”, Mr Blair said. “Over the past several months, basically since 2018, we have seen an escalation towards violence for this group [the Proud Boys].” 

The escalation has continued since the US presidential election, he added. (BBC)