The Canadian Parvasi - Issue 13

The International News Weekly REGIONAL
September 22, 2017 | Toronto 04
Wine festival for moms sparks
firestorm over drinking culture
Agencies
TORONTO: A Toronto
woman who organized a daytime
wine festival for new
mothers has found herself
caught in a firestorm over
the pervasiveness of alcohol
at a time when heavy drinking
is on the rise among
women. The weekday event,
dubbed "A Very Mommy
Wine Festival," was meant
to give new moms a chance
to get together and have
fun without the judgment
and "mommy-shaming"
they consistently face, said
organizer Alana Kayfetz.
The 33-year-old, who has a
one-year-old son, argues the
backlash is simply another
facet of the pressure placed
on mothers. "If this was a
man's beer fest where babies
were welcome, it would
be celebrated, it would be
revered," Kayfetz said. "We
would say 'Oh that's so cute,
look at those dads guzzling
beer and holding their babies.'
No one would question
it."
But critics, some of them
experts on substance use,
have expressed concerns
that making alcohol a focus
of social events normalizes
drinking and increases the
risk of binge-drinking, a
behaviour that has grown
among Canadian women
despite hitting a plateau
among men.
While the number of
teen girls and women who
reported drinking in the last
year has not changed since
the mid-1990s, the proportion
of teen girls and women
who reported heavy drinking
has gone from 8.3 per
cent in 2001 to 13.2 per cent in
2014, according to the latest
data from Statistics Canada.
In comparison, the proportion
of teen boys and
men who reported heavy
drinking in the last year has
stayed around 23 per cent.
When having a drink or
two is par for the course at
social events, it can be a slippery
slope, said Catherine
Paradis, a senior research
and policy analyst with the
Canadian Centre on Substance
Use and Addiction.
"The more you drink, the
more likely you are to bingedrink,"
she said. Bingedrinking
is defined as consuming
five or more drinks
on one occasion for men, or
four for women.
Part of the problem is
that alcohol is "everywhere,"
from races that see runners
travel between breweries
to university information
sessions to cooking shows,
Paradis said. "And now,
you feel isolated and at risk
for post-partum depression
and anxiety? Join the boozy
mom playdate," she said.
Ashley Wettlaufer, a
researcher at Toronto's
Centre for Addiction and
Mental Health, said events
that prominently feature alcohol
typically have alcohol
brands as sponsors, which
is a form of stealth marketing
much like product placement
in movies and television.
"This is another way in
which women are being targeted
— the brands are aligning
themselves with, say,
breast cancer charities, for
example," Wettlaufer said.
"We now see events like beer
yoga advertised on social
media and of course groups
and events like the mommy
wine festival," she said, noting
that Canada's current
regulations on alcohol advertising
don't apply to the
internet and social media.
Though most research on
alcohol ads has focused on
youth, it suggests exposure
is linked to increased drinking
and positive impressions
of brands, she said. "This is
all concerning because of
the health impact of alcohol,
especially for women," such
as increased risk of several
cancers, including breast
cancer, Wettlaufer said.
BC bill to ban donations from
unions and corporations to parties
Agencies
VICTORIA: British Columbia's plan to get big money out of
politics and shake off its reputation as the Wild West of election
campaign financing comes with a potential cost to taxpayers
of almost $30 million over the next five years.
Attorney General David Eby introduced legislation Monday
that bans donations to political parties by unions and
corporations and caps donation limits by individuals at $1,200
annually. The proposed changes to the Election Act include
a taxpayer-funded, five-year allowance to wean the parties off
those donations, Eby said.
Starting next year, political parties will receive $2.50 for
every vote they got in the last election and funding will drop
by 25 cents each year until 2021, the minister said.
It means both the Liberal and New Democrat parties will
receive just over $8.1 million over five years, while the Green
party will get $3.4 million. The changes would also ensure that
the parties that get at least 10 per cent of the vote are reimbursed
for half of their expenses — an estimated cost of $11
million. Eby acknowledged the NDP did not fully address its
position on a vote subsidy before or during the election campaign.
He said the government considered implementing a
permanent vote subsidy after the May election, similar to Quebec's
system, but decided on the five-year allowance instead.
"This bill takes $65 million out of the political system going
forward," said Eby, referring to the estimated amount that
B.C.'s political parties would have fundraised for over the next
five years. "We guaranteed the public we would make 2017 that
last big money election in B.C. We believe this bill achieves
the goal." He said the legislation also bans out-of-province
donations and caps contributions to third-party advertisers.
The proposed law does not permit political parties to use the
money they have raised since last May's election to be used
in the next election, Eby said. Elections BC, the agency that
monitors provincial elections, reported the Liberals raised
$13.1 million in 2016, while the NDP took in $6.2 million and
the Greens raised $757,268. None of the parties have officially
disclosed how much money they have fundraised since the
election. Premier John Horgan said the legislation will take
big money out of B.C. politics.
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