Ontario government and The Beer Store are fighting over beer in corner stores
A stark new website partially produced by the Ontario government along with the Ontario Convenience Store Association aims to convince Torontonians that beer being sold in convenience stores is a good thing.
Sternly called choiceandfairness.ca, the website's main component is a list of "fiction" and "facts" aimed at demonopolizing Ontario's retail booze sales and allowing beer to be sold at corner stores.
If you want all the facts & answers to many of the fictional myths about beer retailing in Ontario, feel free to visit this web site supporting change in how beer will be sold: https://t.co/qRW7RAvtBS #beer #convenience #facts
— OCSA (@OntarioCStores) May 18, 2019
The list of "facts" includes points like such changes being good for small producers, that Ontario is behind the times in terms of such practices, that Ontario drinkers have less choice than almost anywhere and that the changes wouldn't necessarily cost taxpayers anything.
I guess I should take some amount of satisfaction that the name I created many years ago as part of a personal beer mission is a part of a Government-supported initiative now. I just wish it wasn't taken by the corner store lobby. https://t.co/NocATqrMY0
— Cass Enright (@bartowel) May 22, 2019
However, it's been reported the changes could cost from hundreds of millions up to even a billion dollars, which is striking in light of recent cuts to crucial resources.
Despite high taxes, Ontario’s beer prices are some of the lowest in Canada.
— Ontario Beer Facts (@ONBeerFacts) May 15, 2019
Putting beer in corner stores will make it even more expensive.
Get the facts: https://t.co/6yXPzj2QWG #OntarioBeerFacts #onpoli pic.twitter.com/CQvdzo8WCg
Sites like Free My Booze are listed at the bottom of the site, where petitions can be signed in support of changing the liquor laws.
There’s been a lot of talk lately about putting beer in corner stores.
— Ontario Beer Facts (@ONBeerFacts) May 17, 2019
Glenn Howard is proud to lay the facts on the table.
Learn more at: https://t.co/6yXPzj2QWG #OntarioBeerFacts #onpoli pic.twitter.com/EoGTUlC6zi
As expected, The Beer Store isn't letting this change happen without a fight and have been putting out their own materials advocating against the shift to retail beer sales.
He wants to put beer in corner stores, for which he will need to find hundreds of millions in fines. And he can spend your tax dollars on his propaganda Ontario News Now, while at the same time he’s making cuts to health and education. It’s a question of priorities, right?
— BmL (@shopaholic_mum) May 17, 2019
As consumers we're caught in the middle. Most of us would likely appreciate the convenience of wider beer distribution but we're not thrilled at the heavy fees required to make this happen nor the likelihood of beer prices going up.
Baralous
