Headlines from this weeks SPEC

Dec. 22, 2002

Tourists will pay a $2.00 per nigh tax t in the Gaspe
The tax will be implemented in April
Gilles Gagne

Members of the Gaspesian Regional Tourist Association are now supporting the implementation of a $2.00 tax per night spent at an inn located in the Gaspe Peninsula. The tax will be paid by visitors, starting on April 1st, 2003.

Members of the Tourist Association had rejected the application of Law 76 a few years ago. The law allows regional associations to collect $2.00 per night per room from clients, in order to create a Tourism Partnership Fund that will be used for the promotion of the area.

Study shows teen using drugs in moderation
Charlene Eden

A study on substance use in the region’s youth has been conducted by Public Health. The results of the study show that the majority of substance use by teens in the Gaspesie and Magdalen Islands is recreational and moderate. However, there are areas of concern, particularly surrounding marijuana.

According to the study, the region’s youth are experimenting with a variety of substances, but alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana are the substances used most frequently. In terms of alcohol, 82% of participants declared consuming alcohol in the last twelve months, with the majority using alcohol moderately and occasionally. However, 12.8% of youth drink excessively and regularly. It was also found that young boys in the region drink more frequently and more excessively than young girls.

Medical research to start this year in Maria Hospital
Gilles Gagne

MARIA - The Bay of Chaleurs Hospital Centre in Maria recently published a guide line document to supervise the new medical research projects that will start there early in 2003. The research projects are recruited by a private company, the Centre de recherche medicale specialist Baie-des-Chaleurs, Bay of Chaleurs Specialized Medical Research Centre.

The document, prepared by management consultant Alphonse Bernard, is so complete that Quebec's Ministry of Health and Social Services has asked to consult it, says hospital director general Bernard Nadeau.