Published Jun 13, 2025 • Last updated 1 hour ago • 4 minute readBe The Peace and 12 colleague organizations sent a letter to the premier and several ministers when it was learned that the government was considering changes to alcohol availability. Photo by Unsplash /UnsplashThere will be a direct correlation between increased alcohol access in Nova Scotia and the incidence of intimate partner violence, says the co-founder of the Be The Peace Institute.“Research has shown over and over that the expansion of locations and hours of alcohol availability is directly correlated with harms from overuse and heavy drinking, including intimate partner violence,” said Sue Bookchin, the executive director of the institute launched in 2015 and headquartered in Mahone Bay.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle content“In fact, it can be lethal,” said Bookchin.The public and government concern that resulted in intimate partner violence being declared an epidemic in the province is not reconcilable with increasing the availability of alcohol, Bookchin said on behalf of the non-profit institute working to address the roots and consequences of gender-based violence and advance systemic change for gender equity and social justice.The provincial government announced two weeks ago that it wants to canvass Nova Scotians about where they can buy and consume alcohol.Finance Minister John Lohr told reporters that Canada is changing and an increased push for more open interprovincial trade and alcohol is a big part of that.The government is spending $300,000 to give more than 250 stakeholders the opportunity to provide feedback and to conduct a public opinion survey of some 1,500 Nova Scotians that began two weeks ago and will continue until June 30.Article contentLohr said Thursday that the timeline for the public opinion survey is on track.Read More Province wants opinions on where Nova Scotians can drink, buy alcohol JOHN DeMONT: Blind pigs to corner stores: The raucous story of hooch in N.S. Upstreet Craft Brewing seeks creditor protection to restructure debt, but beer keeps flowing Asked how soon after gathering and assessing public opinion a change would be made and if it would require legislation, Lohr said that would depend on what rules the government wanted to change.“When we figure out if there is going to be a change, what is the change?” he said. “Until we know if and what we are changing, then we can figure out how we do that. Sometimes it requires legislation and sometimes it doesn’t. Without knowing what we’re changing I can’t predict that, but it’s very possible” legislation would be required.Article contentAlcohol is currently sold at just over 300 retail locations in the province, including Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. corporate and agency stores, private wine and specialty stores, onsite stores at breweries and wineries, and farmers’ markets but Lohr says considerations for any potential changes could include expanding retail options or allowing more places where people can drink alcoholic beverages.Pause survey for assessment: advocacy groupBe The Peace and 12 colleague organizations sent a letter to the premier and several ministers when it was learned that the government was considering changes to alcohol availability.The letter, which was followed by a meeting of some of the co-signing organizations with Lohr and Justice Minister Becky Druhan, urged the government to pause the process until a comprehensive health impact assessment could be completed.Article content“Alcohol is not an ordinary consumer product,” the letter read.“Its availability shapes behaviour, health outcomes, mental health and well-being, and safety in profound ways, including newly confirmed cancer risks. Research suggests that expanded access is directly correlated with increased rates of heavy drinking, alcohol-related harms, and, most urgently, intimate partner violence.”Among other studies, the letter referenced data from the Nova Scotia Municipal Alcohol Project from some years back that confirmed availability – how many outlets and the times and hours of operation – directly correlates to increased consumption and harms. “This is particularly concerning regarding youth and the alarmingly persistent rates of alcohol-facilitated sexualized violence among university-age young adults,” the letter says.Article contentThe writers go on to say Nova Scotia has some of the highest rates of heavy drinking in the country, especially pronounced in rural areas, where risks for intimate partner are also highest given the likelihood of the presence of guns, limited access to mental health and addiction services, and no public transportation as a means for escape.“We are requesting that you initiate a health and public health impact assessment before proceeding further on expanding alcohol availability,” the letter says.The assessment should include gender-based intersectional analysis, involve community members with lived experience of intimate partner violence and take into account Indigenous, African Nova Scotian and rural communities, where alcohol-related harms often intersect with systemic barriers to supports and services.“Nova Scotia has an opportunity to lead with evidence, empathy, and equity,” the letter concludes. “Convenience should never come at the cost of family safety or our collective public health and well-being.”Article contentBookchin said alcohol is currently readily available in the province and asks who benefits from an increase in access.“An economic benefit, for whom?” she said. “For local producers and retailers who get to sell more of it; it is not an economic benefit for the province because of spending at least twice as much on the harms as whatever revenue would be generated through taxes,” she said.“We as the taxpayers should be concerned about that. We as health-care users, we as the people who are supporting women’s shelters and resource centres and other kinds of responses, justice system responses and child protection responses to family violence, should be concerned about where our tax dollars are going.“It’s not going to be a benefit to us or the province. It’s going to have a detrimental effect on all the services that we rely on that we already can’t get access to, when you are waiting 10 hours in outpatients to be seen.”Article content
Alcohol accessibility impacts intimate partner violence, group says
