Ontario lacks health-care plan for alcohol harms as sales expand: health coalition [Video]

Premier Doug Ford’s government has no strategy to mitigate problems that could result from the province’s newly liberalized alcohol sales rules, a health coalition said Thursday, warning that more death, cancer diagnoses and emergency department strains are on the horizon.

The coalition, which includes the Canadian Mental Health Association, the Canadian Public Health Association, the Canadian Cancer Society and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, said the province has not responded to its request to work together to come up with a plan addressing the possible harms.

“Somebody should be paying attention to what we firmly believe is on the horizon,” said Camille Quenneville, CEO of the Ontario branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association.

“And there doesn’t appear to be any thought or interest in having a conversation or sitting down and figuring out how we might be able to deal with this.”

Thursday marks the province’s final …