wine

Friday July 19, 2024

Concerns over Doug Ford's alcohol market liberalization focus on fears of reduced public revenue, private gains, and disadvantages for taxpayers and consumers amid LCBO strikes.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday July 19, 2024

Concerns Over Ontario’s Alcohol Market Liberalization Under Doug Ford

Premier Doug Ford has fulfilled a 2018 election promise to expand alcohol sales in Ontario, allowing beer, wine, and other beverages to be sold in 8,500 new outlets by January 1, 2026, but the process has taken decades due to long-standing industry agreements.

December 15, 2023

The ongoing strike at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), coupled with Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s aggressive push to expand alcohol sales, raises significant concerns about the future of Ontario’s alcohol market and its implications for taxpayers and consumers.

The LCBO, a longstanding institution in Ontario since its establishment in the post-prohibition era, has faced criticism for its monopolistic structure and perceived inefficiencies. The strike by nearly 10,000 LCBO workers, represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), underscores deep-seated concerns about job security, wages, and the broader impact of Ford’s policies.

News: Doug Ford optimistic as contract talks resume in LCBO strike

March 4, 2015

Ford’s administration has moved swiftly to accelerate the liberalization of Ontario’s alcohol sales, allowing ready-to-drink beverages in grocery stores and planning further expansions to convenience stores. While these changes were initially introduced under the previous Liberal government, Ford’s approach has sparked skepticism about the motives and potential outcomes.

September 24, 2015

Critics argue that the rapid liberalization could undermine the LCBO’s role in generating crucial revenue for public services. The LCBO annually contributes billions to Ontario’s coffers, funding essential programs in healthcare, education, and community initiatives. The fear is that privatizing alcohol sales could diminish this reliable revenue stream, leading to increased taxes or reduced services to make up for the shortfall.

Moreover, there are concerns about the beneficiaries of Ford’s policies. His track record with controversial decisions, such as alterations to the greenbelt and executive appointments, has fueled suspicions that the push to liberalize alcohol sales could primarily benefit private businesses and Ford’s political allies rather than Ontario’s residents.

News: Restaurants, bars frustrated with LCBO strike as negotiations resume

Today's youth face a profound struggle with financial insecurity and societal pressures, hindering their ability to engage amid a pervasive cost of living crisis.

April 9, 2024

The current strike has highlighted logistical challenges, with businesses experiencing shortages and disruptions in alcohol supply. This has impacted not only consumer choice but also the economic stability of sectors reliant on alcohol sales, such as hospitality and tourism.

The question remains: Is Ontario’s alcohol market truly being modernized for the benefit of consumers and the economy, or is it a scheme that risks leaving taxpayers and consumers on the losing end? The lack of transparency and public consultation surrounding these changes adds to the skepticism.

While there may be merit in updating Ontario’s alcohol distribution system to reflect modern consumer preferences, the process must prioritize transparency, fairness, and protection of public interests. Without these assurances, the rush to dismantle the LCBO’s monopoly raises valid concerns about the future of public revenue, consumer rights, and the equitable distribution of benefits across Ontario’s communities. As the strike continues, Ontarians deserve clarity and accountability from their government to ensure that any reforms serve the public good rather than narrow private interests. (AI)

Thursday January 19, 2023

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday January 19, 2023

Health Canada recommends limiting alcohol to just 2 drinks per week

January 16, 2019

New alcohol guidelines recommending that Canadians limit themselves to just two drinks a week – and ideally cut alcohol altogether – have prompted intense debate over risk versus enjoyment in a country where the vast majority of adults regularly consume alcohol.

The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) this week called for a substantial reduction in consumption, warning that seemingly moderate drinking poses a number of serious health risks, including cancer, heart disease and stroke.

The new guidelines, funded by Health Canada, represent a dramatic shift from previous recommendations issued in 2011, when Canadians were told that low-risk consumption meant no more than 10 drinks a week for women and 15 drinks a week for men.

“We wanted to simply to present the evidence to the Canadian public, so they could reflect on their drinking and make informed decisions,” said Peter Butt, a professor of family medicine at the University of Saskatchewan and a member of the panel that drafted the guidelines. “It’s fundamentally based on the right to know.”

September 24, 2015

In its measurements, the CCSA considers a standard drink to be a 12oz (355ml) serving of 5%-alcohol beer, a 5oz (148ml) glass of 12%-alcohol wine or a shot glass of 40% spirits.

In the UK, the NHS recommends no more than six 6oz glasses of wine or six pints of 4% beer per week – ideally spread across three days or more. Health officials in the United States recommend no more than two drinks per day for men and only one for women.

But Canadian experts say that new research suggests three to six drinks a week should be considered moderate risk for both men and women, and seven or more drinks a week is high risk. In addition to elevated risk of colon and breast cancer, as well as heart disease and strokes, the CCSA also identified both injuries and violence as negative outcomes from drinking alcohol.

“This isn’t about prohibition. This is simply about reducing the amount one drinks,” said Butt.

The guidelines also warn that no amount of alcohol is safe when pregnant or trying to get pregnant. While abstinence during breastfeeding is the safest option, a standard drink occasionally does not significantly elevate risk.

June 26, 2009

The new guidelines were met with skepticism by some health experts.

“This type of research often marginalizes other considerations of health and wellbeing from alcohol,” said Dan Malleck, a professor of health sciences at Brock University.

“With their job as the Canadian Center on Substance Abuse and Addiction, there’s no space in there for considering there might be benefits. Their job is to find harm.”

Malleck described the guidelines as “irresponsible”, and said they risk creating “anxiety and stress” among Canadians who once saw themselves as moderate drinkers but now occupy a “high-risk” category.

“The research they’re using also ignores the enjoyment and pleasure and stress relief and collegiality associated with alcohol. None of those things are in the calculation whatsoever,” he said. “We aren’t just machines with inputs and output of chemicals or nutrition. We actually exist in a social space. And that has a significant impact on our health.”

Others, however, see the guidelines as an attempt to help Canadians better understand the realities of alcohol consumption. (The Guardian) 

 

Thursday February 8, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday February 8, 2018

Alberta to stop importing B.C. wine

The fight over Alberta oil coming to British Columbia has now escalated into a wine war.

March 4, 2015

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley announced Tuesday that the province is banning wine from B.C. wineries effective immediately.

“This is one good step to waking B.C. up to the fact that they can’t attack our industry without a response from us,” Notley said at a legislature news conference. “The Alberta Gaming and Liquor Control Board will put an immediate halt to the import of B.C. wine into Alberta.”

She said in 2017, there were 17.2 million bottles imported — the equivalent of about 1.4 million cases — with an estimated value of $70 million per year for B.C. Wineries.

March 4, 2016

“The wine industry is very important to B.C. Not nearly as important as the energy industry is to Alberta and Canada, but important nonetheless,” said Notley.

“I’m also encouraging all Albertans: next time you’re thinking about ordering a glass of wine, think of our energy workers. Think of your neighbours. Think of our community. Think about our province, and maybe choose some terrific Alberta craft beer instead.”

June 8, 2017

Miles Prodan, president of the B.C. Wine Institute, said the estimated retail value of the wine going to Alberta is likely even higher than Notley’s estimate, around $160 million.

Alberta is the most important market for B.C. wine outside of sales within our own the province, Prodan said, adding that about 11 per cent of B.C. wine sold across the country is sold in Alberta. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) 

 

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Friday November 27, 2015

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Friday November 27, 2015 The LCBO wants to sell you pot Stocking weed alongside wine at the LCBO is the best way to protect public health, say addiction experts. But for marijuana advocates it's more of the same prohibition. In a statement released Monday, the union representing LCBO workers said the provincially owned stores are the ideal place to sell marijuana, should the federal government legalize it. "If they do legalize it, then it's a drug," Warren (Smokey) Thomas told the Star. "So we think that, like alcohol, it should be controlled." Thomas, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, said secure warehouses and staff trained to check ages are some of the reasons the LCBO should be the sole source of legal pot in the province, as it is with most alcohol. The scheme would also generate revenue for the government to combat the potential social costs. But marijuana advocates say those social costs and the spectre of public danger are overblown, and government-run sales would continue a prohibitionist regulatory approach. "Our view of course has always been that marijuana is one of the safest drugs. It's not any worse, slightly better, than coffee," said Blair Longley, the leader of the federal Marijuana Party. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals won this fall's election with an campaign platform promising to "legalize, regulate, and restrict access to marijuana." However, Longley maintains the drug should be proportionately restricted based on its danger. So ideally, he said, anyone should be free to grow and use the plant how she wishes with the informed consent as to any danger. Hugo St-Onge, leader of Quebec's Bloc Pot party agrees that government stores are not the way forward. "We need to stop comparing marijuana to alcohol," he said. "Marijuana should have its own model, its own system." He prefers a food-model regulatory system, with sales done in a similar fa

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday November 27, 2015

The LCBO wants to sell you pot

Stocking weed alongside wine at the LCBO is the best way to protect public health, say addiction experts. But for marijuana advocates it’s more of the same prohibition.

Wednesday March 4, 2015In a statement released Monday, the union representing LCBO workers said the provincially owned stores are the ideal place to sell marijuana, should the federal government legalize it.

“If they do legalize it, then it’s a drug,” Warren (Smokey) Thomas told the Star. “So we think that, like alcohol, it should be controlled.”

Thomas, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, said secure warehouses and staff trained to check ages are some of the reasons the LCBO should be the sole source of legal pot in the province, as it is with most alcohol.

The scheme would also generate revenue for the government to combat the potential social costs. But marijuana advocates say those social costs and the spectre of public danger are overblown, and government-run sales would continue a prohibitionist regulatory approach.

“Our view of course has always been that marijuana is one of the safest drugs. It’s not any worse, slightly better, than coffee,” said Blair Longley, the leader of the federal Marijuana Party.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals won this fall’s election with an campaign platform promising to “legalize, regulate, and restrict access to marijuana.” However, Longley maintains the drug should be proportionately restricted based on its danger. So ideally, he said, anyone should be free to grow and use the plant how she wishes with the informed consent as to any danger.

Hugo St-Onge, leader of Quebec’s Bloc Pot party agrees that government stores are not the way forward.

“We need to stop comparing marijuana to alcohol,” he said. “Marijuana should have its own model, its own system.”

He prefers a food-model regulatory system, with sales done in a similar fashion to Amsterdam’s cafés. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

Wednesday March 4, 2015

Wednesday March 4, 2015Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday March 4, 2015

Premier Kathleen Wynne is promising a “more rational” system of selling wine and beer in Ontario.

One day after Wynne told Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb the province would soon have “a lot more open” wine market, the premier underscored that changes ahead will benefit consumers and the treasury.

“I assured him that that’s part of the work Ed Clark is doing,” she said Tuesday, referring to the former TD Bank chair who’s leading a panel reviewing the anachronistic way wine and beer are sold in Ontario.

“I’m not going to pre-empt his report. But there is an opportunity here,” the premier said, noting Clark’s conclusions would be part of Finance Minister Charles Sousa’s spring budget.

“We want these assets to work as well as possible for the people of Ontario. All of that is about finding ways to optimize these assets. Yes, to make the system more rational . . . but also to realize a funding stream, realize money that’s going to be invested in . . . infrastructure,” said Wynne.

“There will be some changes coming as a result of that work. I’m making an assumption that there are aspects of the liquor system in Ontario, the alcohol industry in Ontario, that are not as rational as they could be,” she said. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)