Toronto Star columnist Joe Fiorito wrote about the dangers of alcohol in supermarkets, and the Star subsequently published a letter to the editor from President Smokey Thomas supporting Fiorito's views. The original column can be read here in the Star, and Smokey's response was:
Fiorito knows what he is talking about when it comes to the availability of alcohol. When availability goes up, so does abuse.
Alcohol is not just another consumer product. It is a controlled substance, and for good reason. Many of us enjoy alcohol in moderation, but the facts are that alcohol consumption is linked to a wide range of harms from injuries and trauma to disease and disability.
Even in free-wheeling Alberta, with its fully privatized system of selling beer, wine and spirits, you can’t buy beer in the supermarkets. And Alberta has more than three times the rate of police-reported impaired driving as Ontario.
Ontario has many problems, and difficulty buying alcohol is not one of them. Queen’s Park should focus on more pressing issues."
Warren (Smokey) Thomas, President, OPSEU
Related: OPSEU in the News