Beer – mackaycartoons

Thursday August 9, 2018

August 8, 2018 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday August 9, 2018

Buck a beer is back, but Doug Ford’s plan for cheaper suds is falling flat with some brewers

February 10, 2011

Ontario Premier Doug Ford confirmed this morning that he would introduce legislation to lower the minimum price of a bottle or can of beer to $1 from $1.25 ahead of the Labour Day weekend.

At a news conference Tuesday in Prince Edward County, Ford said the Progressive Conservative government will approve the buck-a-beer plan by Aug. 27. The minimum price of a beer was raised by the Liberals 10 years ago.

But the PC’s move fell flat with some craft brewers who feared the initiative would hurt their business by asking them to eat the costs associated with lowering prices.

February 2, 2007

“We firmly believe that you really do get what you pay for,” The People’s Pint, a brewery in Toronto’s west end, said on Twitter.

Buck a beer only applies to brews under 5.6 per cent alcohol content and participation is not mandatory, said Ford.

“Nobody is being forced to lower their prices and there will be no subsidies or tax handouts,” he told reporters at Barley Days Brewery in Picton, Ont., around 200 kilometres east of Toronto.

Finance Minister Vic Fideli noted the legislation will “reduce the floor” on beer sales and give brewers permission to sell their cans and bottles for $1 — pricing that has been illegal for a decade.

He added the PCs are offering “non-financial incentives” in the form of “buck-a-beer challenge” to encourage Ontario’s 260 brewers to drop prices. (Source: CBC)

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Tuesday March 28, 2017

March 27, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday March 28, 2017

Trudeau government to legalize marijuana by Canada Day 2018: reports

The Liberal government plans to announce legislation next month that will legalize recreational marijuana use nationally by Canada Day 2018, CBC News reported Sunday night.

The report, aired first on CBC’s flagship TV show, The National, said the government plans to introduce the legislation the week of April 10.

Another report, however, indicated the bill would be introduced on April 20, or 4/20, a symbolic date for marijuana users.

According to the CBC report, Ottawa will secure the country’s marijuana supply and license producers. The national age limit to purchase the drug will be set at 18, but provinces will be able to set it higher.

Provinces will also control price, along with how marijuana is bought and sold.

Also, Canadians who wish to grow their own marijuana would be limited to four plants per household.

The new rules generally follow the recommendations of a federal task force chaired by Anne McLellan, a former justice minister. The task force delivered a 106-page report in December with 80 recommendations.

Bill Blair, the former Toronto police chief who, as a Liberal MP, was Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s point person on the issue, briefed the Liberal caucus on the roll-out plan and planned legislation during meetings this weekend, CBC said. (Source: Toronto Star)

Thursday September 24, 2015

September 23, 2015 by Graeme MacKay

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 — on average — 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 — 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

March 13, 2015 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial 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.

“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)

Monday, December 22, 2014

December 22, 2014 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial 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