Public Security Minister François Bonnardel was doing the rounds of Montreal bars on Thursday to hand out drink lids.
It’s part of a new initiative by Educ’alcool and Montreal police (SPVM) called “Check ton Verre,” or “Check your Drink.”
Educ’alcool general manger Geneviève Desautels, said the organization, whose mission is to promote responsible drinking, was approached a year ago by the SPVM and two young entrepreneurs.
“They called Educ’alcool and said, ‘You know what? We have a product and we have an issue and we think Educ’alcool can be involved with us to build a partnership,'” Desautels said.
The product is a recyclable aluminum lid that can be fitted to different glasses.
The idea is to protect patrons against involuntary intoxication linked to drink spiking with substances like GHB — often referred to as the date rape drug — and excessive drinking.
Desautels said statistics on GHB can be hard to come by, as the drug can move quickly through system.
“We don’t know each time is it GHB or other substances, so it’s very hard to have statistics,” she said, adding that there has been an observed increase in the number of people who fear being involuntarily intoxicated and those who have been victims of drink spiking.
In terms of excessive drinking, Desautels said some bargoers who might fear having their drink spiked will opt for shots of alcohol taken in one gulp over nursing a single drink that needs to be closely guarded.
“So they take many of them (shooters) because they don’t want to check their glasses.”
The lid is meant to prevent drink tampering, but also comes with a QR code that redirects customers to a “calcoholator.”
“It’s a tool that we have built many years ago to just know that what kind of level of drinking you are at,” Desautels said.
It allows people to calculate their blood alcohol level based on the drinks they’ve had or to plan ahead based on how much they intend to drink.
The calculator also links to SPVM materials with tips on staying safe for a night out on the town.
Desautels said the plan is to distribute 10,000 drink protectors in the coming months to Montreal bars and local events.
The hope is that is that serving drinks with protective lids will become the norm in bar settings or at festivals where beverages are served.
Desautels is optimistic that bar owners will be on board with providing the lids and making necessary adjustments.
“Yesterday we did the bar tour with them and they are very willing to help their customers to feel safe in their bar,” she said.
In September, Educ’alcool will debrief bartenders, consumers, Montreal police and bar owners to get their feedback.
“Do people want to use it, is it easy to use … if it is, we will be happy to work with other municipalities to be sure that we can just deploy this initiative across the Quebec province.
The pilot project, however, has come under some criticism.
Québec solidaire co-spokesperson Manon Massé said the initiative doesn’t tackle the real problem.
She also accused Bonnardel of missing the mark with the campaign by placing the burden on victims.
In a Twitter post Friday morning, Massé wrote that women are well aware that they need to check their drinks, referring to the campaign’s name.
“We’re sidestepping the real problem: the people who commit criminal acts by drugging other people,” she wrote in French.
She also shared post on Instagram where “check your drink” was crossed out and replaced with “check your friends” indicating the need for a shift away from placing the onus on victims.
Desautels defended the campaign, while also acknowledging Massé had a point.
Desautels said statistics show that when people are involuntarily intoxicated it’s often related to someone they know.
Desautels agreed with Massé on the need to check your friends, using air quotes on the word friend.
But she said the initiative was about providing more tools and that one solution doesn’t exclude the other.
“We have the glass protector and you have to check your friends,” she said. “It’s one tool plus all the others.”
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