It would appear that the puritanical perspective concerning alcohol is still alive and well in Ontario in light of the Ontario Government’s halting steps toward the sale of beer and wine in grocery stores. An April 2015 news release from the province dramatically announced the expansion of beer sales in up to an additional 450 locations “in the biggest change since the repeal of prohibition.” We were also advised that wine would be sold in grocery stores. But at last count only about 60 grocery stores had been authorized to sell beer, with another 70 stores to be given authority by the fall of 2016 to sell wine alongside beer and cider. Sale of beer in the 450 grocery stores originally promised will unfold “over the coming years,” by which time some 300 of these stores will also be authorized to sell wine.
Provincial statements about this policy initiative are sprinkled with references to the importance of responsible drinking. Indeed, one such statement assures us that “The Premier’s Advisory Council on Government Assets consulted extensively with key grocer, brewer, and social responsibility stakeholders to define a fair and socially responsible model for beer sales in grocery stores.”
Nothing New About Wider Availability
I readily concede that excessive drinking takes a toll on the affected individuals and society in general, but I must confess to being puzzled as to why the Ontario Government is so concerned about the potential risk associated with this new initiative. Writing this blog from Myrtle Beach, where I have spent the last 14 winters, I am accustomed to buying wine and beer in my regular grocery stores. I can also find wine in drug stores and even the ubiquitous dollar stores (although it doesn’t sell for one dollar). At no time have I witnessed lewd or lascivious behaviour in the wine aisle of the grocery stores, or in the adjacent parking lots. Indeed, in terms of public concern, the behaviour of a certain Presidential candidate would Trump any discussion about the dangers of readily available wine or beer.
What makes the Ontario Government’s very cautious approach all the more baffling is that beer –and wine and “hard liquor” for that matter – have for years been sold in over 200 outlets in small grocery stores, convenience stores, even gas stations. These are operated through the LCBO as “agency stores” and are usually found in small communities and rural areas where there isn’t any “regular” LCBO nearby. I visited one such outlet regularly for a couple decades when living north of the City of Kingston.
Follow the Money
Given this reality, one cannot help wondering if the provincial hesitancy is mainly prompted by a concern not to tread too heavily or too quickly on the monopoly that has long been enjoyed by the Beer Store. At first glance, there is no reason why a government should hesitate to chip away at the market domination enjoyed by the three large foreign-controlled corporations – Anheuser- Busch, Molson Coors, and Sapparo Breweries – that own the Beer Store and its 450 outlets. Part of the answer may lie in the effective lobbying efforts of the businesses behind the Beer Store – efforts that produced a secret deal in 2000 (with the Conservative regime of Mike Harris) that granted the Beer Store the exclusive right to retail 24 and 12 packs of beer and to sell the most popular brands to restaurants and bars. It would appear that little has changed over the years, given that the foreign owners and the union representing Beer Store employees donated more than $500,000 to the three political parties in Ontario in 2013 and 2014.
Is the current provincial government’s plodding approach to liberalizing Ontario’s distribution of beer and wine really about protecting the public from the evils of drink, or is it more about not antagonizing the corporate interests behind the Beer Store and losing the financial support they have long provided to Ontario political parties?