7. Education, Training and Awareness Fund

In 2018–2019, development began on an external funding program that would allow stakeholders to access a portion of funds from the AGCO’s Orders of Monetary Penalties (OMP) account for Education, Training and Awareness (ETA) initiatives they have designed and developed. In 2019–2020, the ETA Fund was launched allowing industry associations, social responsibility groups and others similarly active and that have the capacity to deliver programming in the sectors the AGCO regulates to develop programs strategically aligned with the AGCO’s mandate.

For the 2019–2020 fiscal year, the total amount of funds the AGCO made available through the ETA Fund was just over $225,000. The following three projects were ultimately selected to receive funding:

A.Serving Responsibly Campaign by MADD Canada

Funded Amount: $100,000

Status: Complete
MADD developed a public service announcement aimed at thanking servers and licensees for keeping our communities safe by refusing to sell alcohol to intoxicated customers in compliance with the law and demonstrating what can happen when servers do not uphold the law.

B.Preventing Intoxicated Gambling Among Young Adults by Responsible Gambling Council (RGC)

Funded Amount: $81,400
Status: In progress
RGC is developing a series of evidence-informed social media messages about refraining from gambling while intoxicated by alcohol and/or cannabis, targeting young adults in Ontario, with a focus on Kenora, North Bay, Ottawa, and Peterborough.

C.South Eastern Ontario Peer Crowd Alcohol Campaign by Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington (KFLA) Public Health Unit

Funded Amount: $45,000
Status: In progress
KFLA is developing a young adult social marketing campaign aimed at reducing the harms of binge drinking. The campaign will target the young adult peer crowd, at greatest risk of alcohol harm.

Given the success of this first year of the ETA Fund, the AGCO is working to launch an additional round of funding for the 2020–2021 fiscal year.