The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
By Jonathon Naylor Flin Flon shatters so many of the negative stereotypes that beset mining towns. We are racially diverse. We have a strong arts community. And crime is not generally seen as a major problem. But mining towns are also known for their hard-partying ways, and in that regard, we would appear to fit the bill. As the RCMP see it, there exists within Flin Flon a "comfort level" with underage drinking and excessive alcohol consumption in general. You certainly don't have to rely on police expertise to reach that conclusion. Drinking is a surprisingly common activity in our area, and while there is nothing wrong with a beverage or two, too many people get carried away too often. Are we worse than anywhere else? A report released last year showed that Flin Flon, Cranberry Portage and Snow Lake residents collectively binge drink more than the Manitoba average. Nearly a quarter Ð 24.4 per cent Ð of residents in the combined communities reported binge drinking once a month. That's seven points higher than the Manitoba rate of 17.5 per cent. Another 24.5 per cent of residents said they binge drink less than once a month, more than four points above the provincial rate of 20.4 per cent. The statistics came from the NOR-MAN Regional Health Authority's latest Community Health Assessment, which compiled data gathered since the previous assessment was done in 2003-04. Binge drinking Binge drinking was defined as having five or more alcoholic drinks on one occasion. One drink was defined as one bottle or can of beer or a glass of draft, one glass of wine or a wine cooler, or one drink or cocktail with 15 ounces of liquor. The NRHA assessment broke down the NOR-MAN region into three districts. District I is Flin Flon, Cranberry Portage and Snow Lake, and District II is The Pas, OCN and the RM of Kelsey. District III is made up mostly of First Nations communities, including Pukatawagan and Moose Lake. District I recorded a higher once-per-month binge drinking rate than District II, whose rate was 20.5 per cent. Information from District III was unavailable. Consequences The consequences of all that drinking are obvious as we see police nab more and more impaired drivers, many of them young and smashed out of their minds. Already in 2011, Flin Flon RCMP are on pace to lay 43 per cent more impaired-related charges than they did in 2010. The jury is out on whether that means more people are drinking and driving or whether police are simply doing a better job at catching them. Either way, however, we clearly have a problem. None of this is to paint everybody who drinks, even in generous volumes, with the same brush. Just because you party hard does not mean you're irresponsible. But as much as this should no longer be an issue in 2011, many drinkers are being irresponsible. They need to appreciate the seriousness of their actions. They need to go online and hear the countless stories of people who have lost a loved one to a drunk driver. And groups like the RCMP and city council must continue to raise awareness around impaired driving and its deadly consequences. The problem won't go away if we ignore it. We all like to think of ours as a safe community, but the truth is that impaired drivers are making it just the opposite. Local Angle runs Fridays.4/18/2011
