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A survey of 4,894 Ontario students in grades 7 to 13 shows an alarming rise in the use of alcohol. The Institute for Social Research at York University found that in 1999, 67.5 per cent of all students reported drinking during the previous 12 months, up from the 1997 level of 59.6 per cent. In 1999, 19.7% of drinkers drank weekly, up from 14.4 per cent in 1993. More drinkers in 1999 reported heavy drinking episodes: since 1993, the consumption of five or more drinks on a single occasion increased from 30.5 per cent to 42.4 per cent.
Ontario Student Drug Use Survey, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Injuries led to 195,116 acute care hospital admissions in Canada in 1998-1999, down 12 per cent from 1994-1995. Three per cent of these (5,941) died while in hospital. Falls accounted for 54 per cent of all injury admissions and were the leading cause of in-hospital deaths due to injury (74%). Traffic injuries were second, at 15 per cent. Of the injuries due to motor vehicle collisions, the 15 to 34 year old age group represented 42 per cent. For Canadians aged 1 to 44 years, deaths due to trauma are the leading cause of potential years of life lost.
National Trauma Registry Hospital Injury Admissions Report 1998/99, Canadian Institute for Health Information

More than half the reported victims of deceptive or fraudulent telemarketing are over age 60, and more than two-thirds are women. People over 60 account for three-quarters of those defrauded of more than $5,000 and the vast majority are victimized more than once. Altogether this type of scam bilks Canadians of an estimated $40 million annually.
Expression, Bulletin of the National Advisory Council on Aging, Vol. 14, No. 2, Spring 2001

Ballistic tests at the RCMP Forensic Laboratory in Regina, SK, have determined that the minimum velocity of 246 ft/sec from a BB gun pellet can cause "serious bodily injury" to the human eye. BB guns can produce velocities of over 600 ft/sec, which can kill an adult or child. Under the Firearms Act, a firearm is defined as "any barrelled weapon from which any shot, bullet or other projectile can be discharged and that is capable of causing serious bodily injury or death to a person."
Gazette, A Royal Canadian Mounted Police Publication, Vol. 63, No. 2, 2001

Manitoba statistics for 1990 to 2000 showed that occupational diseases, where the exposure to harmful substances occurred 20 to 30 years earlier, accounted for 28 per cent of accepted fatalities. Transportation-related accidents (motor vehicles, trains and aircraft) were second, with 24 per cent of job-related deaths. The highest number of fatalities were in construction (26 per cent).
Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba Five Year Plan 2001-2005

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