The History of Sandy's Law and FASD Prevention

With Ontario's new and expanded version of Sandy's Law, this blog will explore the evolution of Ontario's FASD prevention strategy. It may be surprising to know that the Ministry of Health does not have a mandate related to FASD prevention even though its Healthy Children program does work toward that objective. It is actually the Alcohol Gaming Commission of Ontario or AGCO which has the mandate. In 2004, MPP Ernie Parson introduced Bill 43 which required all establishments who sell alcohol to put up a warning poster about the direct link between alcohol consumption during pregnancy and FASD. He introduced this bill in response to the tragic loss of his son, Sandy and so it became known as Sandy's Law. This law was the first of its kind in Canada resulting today in almost all provinces and territories having similar laws. However, it should be noted that the law which has not been amended since 2004 only requires the signage to be in English and expressly states its purpose is to caution women who are pregnant. Following this amendment to the Liquor License Act, the first signage was created. https://fasdprevention.wordpress.com/tag/alcohol-and-pregnancy-campaign/page/2/ (Near the bottom of the page) In approximately 2009, the Sandy Law poster moved to version two where the faces of the mother and father were removed and only their torsos and hands are now shown. https://www.orhma.com/mbr/01/Info/adv/Bev_Alcohol_compliance.aspx (Please note ORHMA is currently showing the old version) However, it does raise questions as to what profile of person is being associated with FASD. Even if people don't know the original image, it is obvious from the skin colour of the hands that it is racialized parents being associated with FASD prevention. The choice of clothing also raises questions regarding the economic status of the parents. Two years ago, with convenience stores and grocery stores now being able to sell alcohol, AGCO also updated the poster to a third version with now directly linking alcohol consumption with FASD. https://www.agco.ca/sites/default/files/2024-08/SandysLaw%20Poster_EN_ON.pdf The law states all establishments that sell alcohol must have this poster which is at a minimum 8 inches by 10 inches in a prominent location. Last year, Rural FASD members did a community scan in Smiths Falls, Perth and Carleton Place to determine compliance with Sandy's Law. We were pleased to see between gas stations, convenience stores, restaurants, grocery stores, breweries, community organizations and LCBO and Beer stores, 124 of the potential 126 locations had their signage up and most were in prominent locations generally near the cash register. However, only about 60% of them were using the latest version and 35% of them were compliant with the minimum size. It is also curious that while AGCO does list the 8136 convenience, gas, and grocery stores in Ontario that currently have liquor licenses, they do not appear to publicly list breweries, restaurants and community organizations with liquor licenses. We also appreciated the fact that most of the retailers we spoke with were proud to show us their poster but rarely knew why it was being displayed other than it was a requirement for their license. It was also shocking to us that AGCO expects the retailer to download the poster, print it out themselves and decide what a prominent location in their establishment is. In contrast, the Ministry of Health has the smoking/vaping warning mandate in Ontario. They offer the option of providing the signage versus the establishment printing it and specify that signage must be located at entrances, exits and washrooms. https://www.ontario.ca/page/no-smoking-no-vaping-signs-businesses. In terms of enforcement, AGCO gives the impression they are dependent on the public to be knowledgeable of the legislature and their website and contact them regarding any non-compliance rather than conduct regular inspections or proof of compliance. https://www.iagco.agco.ca/prod/pub/# While we appreciate the fact AGCO has now become a primary sponsor for MADD based on the newest TV ads, it does raise questions for us regarding AGCO's budget for FASD prevention. We are asking AGCO to begin consultation with stakeholders to develop a caution poster that reflects our understanding of FASD today and does not shame and stigmatize our most vulnerable people. We are also asking AGCO to offer the option of providing licensees a current and proper sized poster to all establishments currently with a liquor license. Finally, we are asking AGCO to standardize signage locations and supplement the signage with other marketing strategies. Rural FASD thanks MPP John Jordan for once again sponsoring FASD Awareness Day at Queen's Park on Wed. Dec 9 in Room 230 from 10:30 to 1:00pm. Our members living with FASD once again look forward to the opportunity to share their living perspective on their accomplishments and challenges over this past year.