Beer store

Thursday September 24, 2015

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Thursday September 24, 2015 Six-packs coming to Ontario supermarkets this fall Consumers, craft brewers, grocers and owners of small bars and restaurants will finally quench their thirst for change under a new deal between Queen's Park and the Beer Store, the Star has learned. The 10-year accord clears the way for six-packs to be sold at 450 of Ontario's 1,500 supermarkets starting later this fall at the same cost as in LCBO outlets and Beer Stores. Beer prices in Ontario will continue Ñ on average Ñ to be among the lowest in Canada. "Nobody thought you could get this agreement with the beer guys," said a senior government official, referring to the foreign parent companies of Labatt, Molson, and Sleeman, which own the Beer Store and have enjoyed a virtual monopoly since Prohibition ended in 1927. "For the small brewers, we are increasing their shelf space," the insider said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the arrangement will not be made public until Wednesday. Indeed, 20 per cent of beer shelving in supermarkets, the LCBO, and Beer Stores will be reserved for independent brewers from anywhere in the world that make fewer than 4.6 million six-packs a year. That boutique category includes Ontario's 100 craft brewers Ñ such as Toronto's Steam Whistle Ñ as well as small Canadian firms like Brick. It does not encompass corporate craft brewer Creemore Springs, which is owned by Molson, or Labatt's Goose Island. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) http://www.thespec.com/news-story/5926184-six-packs-coming-to-ontario-supermarkets-this-fall/ Ontario, Kathleen Wynne, beer, Beer Store, alcohol, monopoly, supermarkets, hoser, health, healthy eating, nanny state, social engineering By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday September 24, 2015

Six-packs coming to Ontario supermarkets this fall

Consumers, craft brewers, grocers and owners of small bars and restaurants will finally quench their thirst for change under a new deal between Queen’s Park and the Beer Store, the Star has learned. Saturday March 14, 2015

The 10-year accord clears the way for six-packs to be sold at 450 of Ontario’s 1,500 supermarkets starting later this fall at the same cost as in LCBO outlets and Beer Stores.

Beer prices in Ontario will continue — on average — to be among the lowest in Canada. Thursday February 12, 2015

“Nobody thought you could get this agreement with the beer guys,” said a senior government official, referring to the foreign parent companies of Labatt, Molson, and Sleeman, which own the Beer Store and have enjoyed a virtual monopoly since Prohibition ended in 1927.

“For the small brewers, we are increasing their shelf space,” the insider said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the arrangement will not be made public until Wednesday.

Indeed, 20 per cent of beer shelving in supermarkets, the LCBO, and Beer Stores will be reserved for independent brewers from anywhere in the world that make fewer than 4.6 million six-packs a year.

Saturday November 15, 2014That boutique category includes Ontario’s 100 craft brewers — such as Toronto’s Steam Whistle — as well as small Canadian firms like Brick. It does not encompass corporate craft brewer Creemore Springs, which is owned by Molson, or Labatt’s Goose Island. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

Saturday March 14, 2015

Saturday March 14, 2015Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday March 14, 2015

Kathleen Wynne not afraid to liberalize beer, wine sales, minister says

Premier Kathleen Wynne has the “steel” to bring beer and wine to Ontario supermarkets, says Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid.

In the wake of revelations by the Star’s Martin Regg Cohn that the spring budget will boast the greatest liberalization of booze sales laws in Ontario history, Duguid said no one should doubt Wynne’s fortitude.

Kathleen Wynne Beer Buster“If you’re questioning the determination of this premier to make some of these tough decisions that have not been made in generations in some cases, I would suggest that this premier has the steel to make those decisions,” he told reporters Friday.

“She’s determined to ensure we get full value out of those assets not for the sake of doing so but to ensure that we have the ability to invest that value in building a stronger province through investing in public transit and investing in infrastructure.”

Duguid said the government is awaiting the final recommendations of former TD Bank chair Ed Clark’s advisory council on government assets to determine the future of the Hydro One transmission utility and how to improve beer and wine distribution.

“The demands of customers are growing in retail, the expectations are growing,” the minister said.

“This does provide an opportunity for the government to provide Ontarians with a better retail experience,” he said.

“We’re very impressed to the work that Ed Clark has been doing to date with regard to both Hydro One and regarding the alcohol distribution system.” (Source: Toronto Star)

Thursday February 12, 2015

Thursday February 12, 2015Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday February 12, 2015

Price hike possible amid potential Beer Store changes, Molson Canada CEO says

BSChanges to the Beer Store could lead to higher prices, the CEO of Molson Coors Canada warned on Tuesday.

Stewart Glendinning’s comments to The Canadian Press come amid a push from Queen’s Park for the Beer Store’s foreign owners — Labatt, Molson Coors and Sleeman — to start paying a “franchise fee.”
“My overall worry is that we create a problem for beer volumes in Ontario,” Glendinning said.

Monday, December 22, 2014An expert panel headed by former TD Bank CEO Ed Clark recommended the fee, a cost the companies would not be allowed to pass on to consumers as a price hike. Clark said the province could strip the brewing giants of their monopoly should they refuse.

Clark also recommended the government-owned LCBO be allowed to sell 12-packs of beer instead of just six-packs. As the Star revealed in December, a secret deal between the LCBO and the Beer Store means lucrative 12-packs and 24-packs cannot be sold at liquor stores.

Glendinning’s comments echo those of Jeff Newton, president of Canada’s National Brewers — which runs the Beer Store — who has said that adding new taxes to the retailer and selling larger packs at the LCBO is a “recipe for higher beer prices.”

But the province is still exploring the panel’s recommendations.

Saturday November 15, 2014“We know that changes need to be made at the Beer Store,” said Kelsey Ingram, spokesperson for Finance Minister Charles Sousa.

In November’s Fall Economic Statement, Ingram noted, Sousa expressed support for the recommendations, including improving transparency at the Beer Store, providing Ontarians with a fair share of profits, ensuring all producers, including craft breweries, are treated equitably, and extending the sale of 12-packs of beer into LCBO stores. ‎

On Tuesday, Glendinning described the Beer Store as a break-even co-operative. Sousa has previously disagreed. (Continued: Toronto Star)

Monday, December 22, 2014

Monday, December 22, 2014Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Monday, December 22, 2014

Kathleen Wynne warns ‘change’ looms for The Beer Store

Premier Kathleen Wynne says Ontarians can “expect some change” in the new year on the way booze is sold in the province, including a rethink of the government’s deal with the foreign-owned Beer Store.

While the premier remained coy about how far she is prepared to go, she said the Liberals are “absolutely” serious about reforms.

“I’m impatient to get at that,” Wynne told the Star on Wednesday during a year-end interview in her Queen’s Park office.

“There’s a distribution system that works very well, but the fact it works very well has a value to it, right?” she said of the privately owned Beer Store.

“So how do we realize that value for the people of the province?”

A blue-ribbon panel on monetizing provincial assets led by former TD Bank chair Ed Clark has recommended keeping the LCBO in public hands while expanding its operations and charging The Beer Store a “franchise fee.”

Clark has warned the brewers, who claim they cannot afford another tariff, they will not be allowed to pass along the levy to consumers in the form of higher beer prices.

If they balk, the government is threatening to take away the monopoly enjoyed by AB InBev, MolsonCoors, and Sapporo, the offshore parent companies of Labatt, Molson and Sleeman. (Source: Toronto Star)

Kathleen Wynne, Ontario, Beer, Beer Store, liquor, cartel, monopoly, alcohol

Friday December 12, 2014

Friday December 12, 2014Group wants probe into LCBO-Beer Store deal

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday December 12, 2014

A national restaurant group has asked the Competition Bureau to investigate a non-compete agreement between the Liquor Control Board of Ontario and the Beer Store, claiming the deal restricts competition and inflates the price of beer in restaurants, bars and pubs.

Restaurants Canada also called Wednesday on the Ontario government — owner of the LCBO — to immediately cancel the agreement, which was first reported by the Toronto Star.

The Star reported on Tuesday that it obtained a 10-page document — signed by the LCBO and the Beer Store in June 2000 — in which the LCBO agreed not to sell beer in packages of more than six containers. It also agreed not to sell to restaurants and bars any of the major brands not carried in its regular stores.

James Rilett of Restaurants Canada said the group has known of the existence of an agreement for years, but it “did not know the depth of the complicity.” He said a neutral party now needs to look into what he called a “sweetheart deal.”

The Competition Bureau confirmed Wednesday that it had received a complaint from the group and that it will review it.

Restaurants Canada, which represents 30,000 food-service businesses, said that in the past, the bureau had not been willing to wade into the issue, but the group believes the deal must be investigated now that it has been made public.

“The agreement can be terminated at any point, simply by giving six months’ notice. If the government were to cancel it today, Ontario consumers would be able to have better service and cheaper prices by the summer,” the group said.

The brewers’ association hit back, saying the allegations were false and inaccurate.

“Restaurants Canada’s claims that the Beer Store sets beer prices and that the LCBO/Beer Store framework agreement controls beer prices are both categorically false and misleading,” said Jeff Newton, president of Canada’s National Brewers. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)