David Menzies, guest hosting for Ezra Levant, has some interesting things to say about the Liquor Control Board of Ontario:
h/t Matt from Mississauga
David Menzies, guest hosting for Ezra Levant, has some interesting things to say about the Liquor Control Board of Ontario:
h/t Matt from Mississauga
I recognise a lot of those labels.
To beat them to the punch..”I am shocked it tell you, shocked!”
….and here in BC the bclcb tells us they have the best selection in the world but I cant seem to find so so many labels. I can find them in Calgary or even Blaine Wa but not on the shelves of the biggest selection, government = lying scumbags.
The Alberta Government may have privatized the sales point, BUT it still maintains a monopoly on the distribution side. “Free market” my ass.
About 30 years ago, the county I lived in had county owned and operated liquor stores. They were only open 9-6 weekdays and Saturday until noon. The stock was never very good, the price was retail, and they managed to regularly lose money. Meanwhile, every major road out of the county had a discount liquor store just over the border with lower prices, better selection and much better hours. The county evenrually got out of the liquor business because it could not afford the losses.
….and here in BC the bclcb tells us they have the best selection in the world but I cant seem to find so so many labels. I can find them in Calgary or even Blaine Wa but not on the shelves of the biggest selection, government = lying scumbags.
And here in Washington State the public voted overwhelmingly in November to privatize all liquor sales, meaning that hard liquor will be available one of these days in super markets, Costco et al.
Nonetheless, the union representing 1000 liquor store workers is suing to block it and thus overturn a democratic vote.
Can you imagine what the vastly more powerful BCGEU would do? Come to think of it, that applies to health care and government car insurance too, doesn’t it?
theredsuit is right, Alberta still does the wholesaling/distribution thing. I once did a national function in Calgary, complete with specially bottled Kelona wine for the event. I did all the legwork dealing with the winery and such but I still had to buy the wine from the Alberta booze board who bought it from the winery. Silly but still better than Ontario.
btw, does anyone remember when you had to go into the Ontario liquor store, look up a part number from a list of available products and hand to the clerk who would give it to someone else to pick up in the back and have it rung up by a third person? About the same as beer if I remember correctly. Wait, the Beer Store still does that.
Buddies of mine who have lived places where beer liquor sales are privatized and/or sold in corner stores tell me that the selection sucks and the pricing is no better than here in Ontario. Basically, if you like Canadian, Blue, Bud or Coor’s Light you’re good to go. Good beers, not so much.
The lowest common denominator is a real bitch sometimes. At least with the buying power of the LCBO they can cater to a wide variety of tastes and not just what sells to the masses.
I really have no issues with the LCBO other than the high pricing which is due to excessive taxes.
selection is the key in privatized Alberta stores. plus the government has a per bottle markup pretty close to just a fixed cost so prices are lower.
and most of the good ones like CO-OP superstore have more selection than the last Blue/Canadian outlet I visited in Ontaririaiairo
The Left also wants to legalize and have state run marijuana. Are they on drugs?
Of course they love regulation and more taxes, guess they figure their pot won’t magically go up in price. The left hates the rich, but they insure that only the rich get to do the fun things in life. Ain’t socialism a blast.
Brain Drain hit the nail on the head with his/her reference to unions. IMO that’s the root cause for inertia on the part of the govt not acting to privatize. LCBO employees are glorified grocers earning pensions and they’d man the barricades if they ever felt those were threatened. Here in Ontario, our beer is dist’ed by the two major manufacturers who give short shrift (and limited shelf space) to the more valued and tasty micros.
Most of the high price is due to taxes, however, they have a system for determining price that only a professional government bureaucrat could come up with. They have a procedural profit margin. They decide what price they want to sell a product for and they pay the supplier what they must to make their profit margin and retail price calculation work. Apparently they have told suppliers that they have to give them more money than they were asking for just to make their formula work. That being said, as an Ontario resident I do really like the selection at their stores.
Philm said “Here in Ontario, our beer is dist’ed by the two major manufacturers who give short shrift (and limited shelf space) to the more valued and tasty micros.”
Just over 10 years ago it looked like the big grocers were going to be able to sell beer in their stores. Loblaws/Fortino’s and Sobeys/IGA have their own beer brands that they can only sell in Quebec right now. Small town stores like Food Town, Knectel, Price Chopper etc were going to be allowed to sell beer and wine in their stores. It would have been a huge boon to the small town stores and the brewery, which at the time was Lakeport in Hamilton. It would have effectively shut down all the Brewers Retails in Ontario.
Texas Canuck
Yea…I remember when buying booze in Ontario was like going into a confessional.The atmosphere was less than ambient and if you didn’t take the ‘gov’t contraband’ directly home in a ‘deemed responsible’ amount of time and manner, it could be confiscated by a peace officer.
I moved to BC over 40 years ago…it was a breath of fresh air compared to Ontari-ari-o but that was then. Now…not so good.
Whenever the liquor store/crown corporation thing comes up, I always ask why the government doesn’t sell pants the way liquor is sold?
Oh cause THAT’s ridiculous.
theredsuit at December 9, 2011 6:08 PM
Yup, and the central clearing warehouse is still operated by ALCB union workers.
A couple of years back(2009 I think) they decided they weren’t going to bring my favourite beer, Kootenay, in from Trail anymore and boom, that was all she wrote.
It’s still a government monopoly, they just do it on the sly and since there hasn’t been any strikes since they set it up I can only assume the Alberta PC government is giving the union whatever they want to maintain the ruse for them.
I think it was just last year when I saw an article that showed that Albertans pay the highest beer and spirit prices in the nation.
http://www.edmontonsun.com/news/columnists/michael_platt/2010/08/15/15033171.html
Yup.
So much for the myth of privatization.
I had to close my eyes and think of Ezra for the whole five minutes.
Can’t find Laphroig 10 year old any more. DAMN!!
Oz >
“So much for the myth of privatization.”
Yet I would rather pay an extra dollar for a banana or more for a good computer or car if I could have it made in Canada or the US by legal Canadian or American citizens.
A capitalist economy in balance with itself that is not competing with the Third World and unfair government monopolized regulation sorts itself out quickly.
From the video: If I see Gretsky or ANY other celeb on a label, I RUN!
A few years ago B.C. was selling Australian Red Tail wine at 11.99, now 12.99 and at these prices it was considered by some as a premium wine. I’ve seen it at less than half that in the U.S. — so it is not a premium wine, but still better than some of the Canadian stuff that sells for more at the government price.
It’s all overpriced and full of chemicals (headaches for me now) and, sensibly I’ve stopped drinking the stuff, and I do miss it.
Every time I go for a holiday in the US I just can’t bear to go into a statist liquor store. Eastern Paul, I’ve bought 10 year old Laphroig in Florida for 1/3 the price that it sells for in BC (on sale of course). The only Laphroig that is sold in BC now is about $80/bottle and 46% alcohol which makes it a bit harsh for sipping straight. My favorite brand of tequila is no longer sold in BC and the last “sale” price was $51/bottle. The regular price in Florida was $20/bottle. As far as the selection one gets at US private stores, obviously corner store beer is higher priced than Walmart but the best selection and price I found was at a place called the Liquor Barn (or some similar name).
I get very annoyed when I can buy Canadian beer 4000 miles away from where it’s produced at half the price that I pay in Canada. It’s almost enough to make a Libertarian quit drinking in Canada out of principle.
In Ontario, we have the LCBO stores which sell wine and spirits, some wine kiosks in grocery stores (licensed by the LCBO), and we have “The Beer Store” (formerly known and signed as “Brewer’s Retail”).
The LCBO has a hammer-lock on alcohol sales in this Province.
One time I was coming back from NY State, and I picked up four bottles of 151 proof rum at the duty free, just before heading back over the border. I knew I wouldn’t get them truly duty free as I hadn’t been over for 48 hours, and there’s a 1 bottle limit per person for that sort of exemption anyway. I told the border guard I’d just pay the duties and taxes. (I figured I’d still be ahead of the game compared to LCBO prices.) He looked at me and said, “Okay, but you’re gonna be surprised at how much this costs you…” He was right.
On my importation receipt, I got hit with: Duties, Alcohol taxes, sales taxes, and a special fee that jumped the entire bill up by about another 50%: An Ontario surcharge for daring to bring liquor into the province and not buy from them. Seriously.
They made sure I paid about the same as what I’d pay in one of the LCBO stores. Statist bastards.
cal2@7:41pm
I have to agree that the Co-op liquor stores have the best selection, they do not win awards many years in a row for nothing. I have always been treated with great service at their stores as well.
I am sure looking forward to when Camrose gets one.
I remember visiting family in Sask. a couple years ago, and the first night I missed the closing time for the liquor stores and the second day I laughed so loudly due to the selection. Completely forgot about government ran liquor monopolies, being from Alberta.
Argentium G. Tiger
Yeah I used to buy that rocket fuel too….
Yep
“work diligently with integrity and you are sure to get your reward…”(image of a guy with a 6 foot screw through his navel)
when I was long hauling (Vancouver LA Edmonton) the liquor barn in northern Cali I used to stop at sold a vodka at 5 bucks a gallon, Im willing to bet you would never guess what I did with those every week.
Once you remove unions from the equation it changes shelf prices dramatically.
@OZ
“Yup.
So much for the myth of privatization”
If it is still run by the unionistas ..then it is truley not privatized if that is your point …well taken ..but if your trying to say that in alberta privatization we brag about how our system is privatized and there is no benifit …the reason is because we are not truley privatized and until we are a fully privatized sytem we will alway’s have the same stupid high prices as the liquor boards of all the other provinces….albertans are being duped once again …
You know i movedo ut here in 2001 and i have learned alot about this province and it makes me sick to see how the politicians are a bunch of turn coat red tories ,left wing pig’s…the wholel ot of them sometime i feel like running for office just to sort this crap out but then i think of how i would have a target on my back by ALL of the other politicians either a)to smear me into submission ..and they would have lot’s of ammo!!
B) ifi did run and kicked but they would never co-operat and block me at every turn …so i will toss my vote to the wild rose ..even though i think danielle smith is a radical feminist inside who beelives in slaughtering unborn children she is also a devoute athiest …and this is the saddest part …her and her party make more sence than any other party in alberta right now …how bad has it gotten here? Well now you know !!
I am fortunate to have one of about 200 LCBO agenacy stores to shop in. I buy beer, whisky, wine, milk, groceries in one stop at the local variety store. The main advantage is non-union staff, so they set their own hours, and are open holidays, even boxing day. I never go in a beer store or LCBO if I can avoid it. These agency stores show the future way, if any government wanted to act. There is no deal on price, but the service is totally different.
If it is still run by the unionistas ..then it is truley not privatized if that is your point …well taken ..but if your trying to say that in alberta privatization we brag about how our system is privatized and there is no benifit …the reason is because we are not truley privatized and until we are a fully privatized sytem we will alway’s have the same stupid high prices as the liquor boards of all the other provinces….albertans are being duped once again …
~paul in calgary
That’s my point, paul in calgary, thank you for understanding.
Real privatization is good.
If Albertans think that we already have it, when in fact we don’t, who will support the push for the real thing?
It’s an old socialist maneuver to give the people a fake, claim it’s the real deal, and the fake immunizes the regime from having to give the people the Real McCoy.
The Alberta “privatization” was one of Premier Ralph’s tactics to reduce the government’s spending problem. A few thousand unionized jobs were eliminated and the sale of the real estate brought in revenue. Control of prices and taxes remained with the government. It was a brilliant move.
More people now work in the retail liquor business than before, albeit not at unionized government wages or benefits. We did get some other benefits at point of sale – better service in the form of operating hours and locations.
Alberta’s beer and liquor system still has warts and compared to most of the USA and maybe Quebec, we suck. It wouldn’t surprise me to find that a wholesale pricing system similar to the LCBO one is being used here.
But compared to the ROC we’re flying high (pun intended).
I gave up the demon liquor some years ago, so the LCBO no longer pilfers from my wallet.
However as a textbook case of government “industry” vs private industry, this example is instructive. It isn’t even the stupidity of bidding prices up that make the case. Its the inherent -unpredictability- of the government process.
Private industry can be relied upon to seek the lowest costs and sell at the highest prices the traffic will bear. They have to, that’s how the math works. The LCBO does NOT have to make a profit, and so higher management is free to set policy which serves purposes other than profit. At whim.
The practical outcome of this is that LCBO customers and suppliers can’t predict what LCBO will do on any given day. It all depends who’s winning the LCBO internal political battle that week, and we can’t know that.
It doesn’t really mean all that much when we’re just talking about drink. You can live without it. But how about coal? Or the Wheat Board? EPA releasing new rules about farm dust? Self defense?
Government is not the right instrument to use for running a lot of things. Predictability is one reason.
If yer too lazy to make yer own beer/wine then ye got every right to bitch about prices/monopolies/TheBeerStoreTM/LCBO/BCLB!
Hosers, keep payin the TAXMAN.
Ontario, land of overtaxed, overpriced everything; Land led by Dalton the Dolt, Prevaricator-in-chief and principal spendthrift of a dying province.