Media releases

• Strike may help shape LCBO’s future, says Brock expert

  Friday, July 05, 2024 | By Brock University

  EXPERT ADVISORY: July 5, 2024 – R0082

  Nine thousand unionized Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) employees walked off the job on Friday, closing the doors to thousands of stores across the province and launching the first-ever strike in the retailer’s history.

  Stores are expected to be closed for at least 14 days.

  Brock University Professor of Health Sciences Dan Malleck says although the strike itself is historic in nature, the fact that alcohol is more widely available today than in the past means store closures won’t be as “big a deal as they would have been 30 years ago, when the LCBO was the main point of access.”

  After months of bargaining, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) and the LCBO failed to come to an agreement on wage increases, a demand for more full-time jobs and a desire to update language in the collective agreement that would protect existing jobs as well as the future of the LCBO itself.

  “Private retailers are not bound to have unions, they aren’t bound to pay their staff a living wage, so their concerns about jobs are very valid,” Malleck says.

  The LCBO was formed post-prohibition in 1927, under the guiding principle of what is known as disinterested management, he says. It served as a balancing force between the public’s desire to have access to alcohol and temperance concerns about the potential harms of alcohol.  Under disinterested management, the priority was controlling access, rather than profit.

  “Fundamental to the idea of the LCBO is the ‘C’ — control — and the LCBO’s union has always presented itself as the frontline controlling access to this product that could be considered problematic,” Malleck says. “The rhetoric coming out of the union now has been more about the loss of profit to the people as opposed to control, however, which is an interesting framing because up until now the LCBO and its union have emphasized their expertise in managing access to alcohol.”

  For decades, the LCBO continued to operate under this control-focused model, with few calls for widespread change.

  “The LCBO has been a convenient administrator of alcohol and a very appealing revenue generator and there hasn’t been a huge public outcry about having it any other way,” Malleck says of the retailer’s role in the province’s liquor sales.

  The strike times with the Ford government’s recent move to allow convenience stores and all grocery stores to sell beer, wine and ready-to-drink cocktails ahead of schedule, however.

  The timing really helped the union’s position, Malleck says, “as it could feel to some people that the roll out of expanded sales is haphazard, so the union can tap into those worries about it going too fast.”

  Malleck also says the further proliferation of alcohol sales will inevitably impact the scope of the LCBO’s foothold in the market to some degree, potentially leading to store closures and lost revenue because of increased competition.

  Another sticking point with OPSEU was the inclusion of ready-to-drink spirits in the plan for expanded retail sales.

  “It’s usually beer, wine, cider in private sales and spirits still controlled by the province so to do these premixed drinks is sort of breaking that model,” he says. “It does open up the door to spirit sales in stores, but I think that it would be a really big deal in Ontario to see that happen.”

  When it comes to the safety and health impacts of having broader access to alcohol across Ontario, however, he says concerns may be overblown.

  “The idea of booze being sold by for-profit companies can seem like we’re about to lose control — I’m not sure if that’s the case — but it’s something that plays on the minds of people and we see it every time an aspect of booze sales is about to be liberalized,” he said. “With alcohol regulation there’s always people that think that any more liberalization is going to cause complete social chaos, and it’s not.”

  Brock University Professor of Health Sciences Dan Malleck is available for media interviews on this topic.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Sarah Ackles, Communications Specialist, Brock University sackles@brocku.ca or 289-241-5483

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  Categories: Media releases

• School’s out for summer — which can be a challenge for teen perfectionists

  Tuesday, July 02, 2024 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: July 2, 2024 – R0081

  While many students relish having the summer off from school, the downtime can strike a different chord with teen perfectionists.

  The loss of structure and purpose provided by rigid schedules and schoolwork can cause anxiety amongst some youth, which may become apparent only a few days into the summer holidays, says Brock University Associate Professor of Child and Youth Studies Danielle Sirianni Molnar.

  “Parents may observe their teens feeling restless unless they are busy or working towards their unusually high standards,” says the Canada Research Chair in Adjustment and Well-Being in Children and Youth. “It is not uncommon for teen perfectionists to share with us that they tend to ‘over plan’ their summers so they do not lose momentum and can make the most of their time.”

  That may mean taking up new hobbies, engaging in sports, learning a new language or volunteering — in many cases to ensure they are strong candidates for scholarships, university applications or future careers, Sirianni Molnar says.

  “Keep in mind, this is in addition to their paid employment and their social time,” she says.

  Sirianni Molnar, who has researched teen perfectionism for the past decade, encourages parents to be on the lookout for signs of “activity-based self-worth,” which sees teens basing their worth as human beings on their ability to always be engaged in meaningful activities.

  To learn more about the behaviour of teen perfectionists, her research team is looking for participants for their new study, “Living with Perfectionism.”

  Youth between 12 and 18 years of age who self-identify as perfectionists and their parent or guardian can enrol in the study by emailing lwp_study@brocku.ca. They need to live within a reasonable driving distance to Brock, since part of the research will be conducted in a University lab.

  Participants will be asked questions but with a twist: instead of answering verbally or with numbers on a scale, the teen and their parent will take photographs separately to illustrate their answers.

  The duo will then come into the lab and discuss their photos with each other and the researchers.

  At the end of the study period, participants will receive gift cards for their participation and can choose to have their photos showcased in an exhibition, where members of the public can view the images and learn the stories behind them.

  “We want it to be an immersive experience where the public can feel what the participants feel to gain a deeper understanding of what day-to-day life is like for young perfectionists and their families,” says Sirianni Molnar.

  She says studies into this topic are important to raise awareness, as parents often don’t recognize the signs of perfectionism and the damage it causes to their children’s mental and physical health.

  “Young perfectionists wear this mask of perfection that creates a barrier to sharing with others, resulting in a profound level of social disconnection,” she says. “Although they view this mask as being protective, the persistent loneliness can lead to mental health problems like depression, isolation, anxiety and chronic stress.”

  Sirianni Molnar says that perfectionist teens may not be doing as well in life as they appear, either. In studies examining their objective performance, most perfectionist teens don’t perform much better than their peers. In some cases, they may even perform worse because their anxiety over everything being flawless causes them to procrastinate.

  Perfectionistic teens also tend to seek validation by “over monitoring” the eye contact, facial expressions and other body language of people who they’re interacting with, and through “likes” and comments on social media, she says.

  Receiving less-than-stellar feedback from others can cause debilitating anxiety in perfectionistic teens.

  “Young perfectionists interpret feedback very differently than those who are lower in perfectionism,” says Sirianni Molnar. “If someone is told, ‘You look good,’ a lot of people would take that as a compliment,” she says. “But the perfectionist teen would think, ‘Just good? Why just good? What’s wrong?’”

  She says her research aims to help parents, teens, and teachers recognize the signs of perfectionism and “to provide resources aimed at supporting young perfectionists in letting go of their perfectionistic tendencies so that they can thrive.”

   

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

   * Sarah Ackles, Communications Specialist, Brock University, sackles@brocku.ca or 289-241-5483

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  Categories: Media releases