Holy Shit, Ontario May Actually Permit Grocery Stores to Sell Beer

Ontarians are one step closer to civilization as the Liberal government appears set to allow the sale of beer and wine in large grocery stores.

As first reported in the Toronto Star, the Liberals are heeding to growing public resentment against the Beer Store and are ready to smash up the foreign-owned retailer's near-monopoly on selling suds in the province.

The report says hundreds of the approximately 1,500 supermarkets throughout Ontario would be able to sell beer, including that of the craft variety. Wine sales would be slightly more tricky thanks to Byzantine trade laws.

Hard booze would still only be available in the government-owned LCBO, so one-stop shopping for bourbon and bacon benders are out of the question.

The policy is expected to be revealed in the Liberals' spring budget, which should land in the next few weeks.

"We've been open about our concerns around the issue of fairness surrounding the Beer Store. We believe there is an opportunity to improve customer convenience and ensure there is a wide range of brands available to Ontarians," said Greg Crone, the spokesperson for Finance Minister Charles Sousa, in an email to VICE.

Crone said the government still awaits an advisory panel's recommendation on the issue.

Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid told reporters Friday that Premier Kathleen Wynne has the "steel" to bring beer and wine to supermarkets.

"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," he said.

Of course, that "steel" may also be required to stare down the Liberal party, which received about $275,000 in donations from the Beer Store, its owners and the union that represents beer industry employees in 2013 and 2014.

The Beer Store, which has an insanely sweet backroom deal with the LCBO to exclusively sell 24-packs to bros, will also be hit with a franchise fee for as much as $100-million a year, the Star says.

The privately owned Beer Store sells the majority of beer in province of Ontario, about 80 percent, leaving the LCBO, with its puny six-packs and craft singles, far behind.

While Premier Kathleen Wynne has continually ruled out selling booze in corner stores, lest Ontario kids turn into horny, bad seeds like their Quebec cousins, change has been inevitable for a while. Last year, an advisory panel led by TD Bank CEO Ed Clark said the money-troubled province should wring more cash out of the Beer Store's near-monopoly.

Moody's recently warned that Ontario will be "challenged" to balance its budget by 2018, as the Liberals have pledged.

The Beer Store says it is co-operating with the government on the issue and as a result cannot comment on the report.

"The Beer Store recognizes that the Government of Ontario has a fiscal challenge and we have committed to being a responsible part of the solution," Beer Store spokesperson Jeff Newton said in a statement to VICE. "We have been working cooperatively with the Premier's Advisory Council on Government Assets. The Beer Store is subject to a non-disclosure agreement that covers this work and we have complied with that agreement. As a result, the Beer Store will not comment on speculative media stories at this time, except to say that the process is not complete."

It is believed the Liberal government, which keeps on getting elected despite its love or scandals, is approaching the booze issue as a ballet winner rather than a cash grab, given the public's recent dissatisfaction with the status quo.

Given that the Beer Store customer experience is based on the 1960s Soviet Union model, and its tough-on-craft-beer policies, it's hard to imagine how grocers cannot improve on way Ontarians get their backyard drunk on (or, ya know, taste complex flowery notes of organically-grown hops or whatever).

The Ontario Craft Brewers group, which is made up of about 50 small brewers, cautiously applauded the government's tentative move to shake up the system.

"As we have said many times, improved access for Ontario Craft Beer will accelerate our job creation ability and solidify the establishment of craft breweries across the Province," John Hay, president of the Ontario Craft Brewers, said in a statement to VICE.

Added Cam Heaps, co-founder of Steamwhistle Breweries and chair of the Ontario Craft Brewers: "A key aspect for Craft Brewers is that any new access, whatever form it takes, is affordable and that it does not allow large players to purchase all of the shelf space. Shelf space fees are illegal in many US states for that very reason."

The Beer Store is owned by Labatts (itself owned by AB Inbev of Belgium), US-owned Molson-Coors, and Sleeman, which is owned by Japan's Sapporo Breweries.

The Retail Council of Canada declined to comment, stating its spokesperson was unavailable.

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union, whose relationship with the Wynne government hovers around abysmal, also responded to the report, citing four problems with selling alcohol in grocery stores.

"A third troubling aspect is the danger that making alcohol more readily available will contribute to more violence in the province, particularly violence against women. We know alcohol contributes to violence, and this makes us question Premier Kathleen Wynne's commitment to making women in this province safer," said union president Warren (Smokey) Thomas.

Obviously, nothing of the kind has happened with union-sold booze.

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