The “quasi-monopoly” LCBO and The Beer Store have hosed Ontario consumers long enough, a C.D. Howe Institute report says.

The right-wing think tank said the Ontario government should strip them both of their almost exclusive right to sell beer, wine and spirits, suggesting the report proves that opening up to alcohol sales to competition will mean lower prices.

“The lack of competition in Ontario’s system for alcoholic beverage retailing causes higher prices for consumers and foregone government revenue,” states the 30-page report, Uncorking a Strange Brew: The Need for More Competition in Ontario’s Alcoholic Beverage Retailing System, to be released publicly Wednesday.

The report includes tables comparing Ontario beer prices to other provinces with greater private sector involvement, particularly with Quebec, where a case of 24 domestic beers can be as much as $10 cheaper and even more for imported brands.

Since 1927, when the Liquor Control Act was passed, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario and the privately owned Brewers Warehousing Company Limited have had a stranglehold on alcohol sale in the province.

“The Beer Store’s quasi-monopoly of beer retailing is . . . an anachronism,” the report says, referring to the foreign-owned private retailer that is protected by provincial legislation.

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For almost 30 years now provincial governments of various stripes have talked about opening up competition but have bowed to political pressure from the brewers and fears that competition would kill the golden goose — the LCBO, which in 2013-14 pumped $1.74 billion into government coffer, excluding taxes.

“Those profiting from the status quo . . . have a major stake in it and strongly oppose reform,” the report says.

The report insists the province would see more money and consumers would pay less if it allowed the sale of beer and wine in grocery and convenience stores as it is now in Quebec, allow other retailers to sell beer and by freeing up wine retailing — now limited to certain industry owned stores, the LCBO and on-site sales by wineries.

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“These changes would increase the choices available and reduce prices for Ontario consumers, as well as improve the competitiveness of Ontario’s smaller wineries and breweries and generate more revenue for the government,” the report concludes.

The report notes that a Liberal government-initiated Beverage Alcohol System Review in 2005 came to similar conclusions but the panel’s recommendations were rejected by then premier Dalton McGuinty.

The C.D. Howe Institute is just the latest to add its voice to a growing chorus advocating a liberalization of alcohol sales in Ontario, including the Ontario Convenience Stores Association. But the Liberal government has consistently put the boots to the idea.

“A major component of the lack of competition is the disadvantage faced by small Ontario wineries and breweries relative to the larger producers. Three large brewers own The Beer Store, which dominates retailing of beer, while two large wineries enjoy the right to sell their wines in major off-winery stores: the Wine Shop and the Wine Rack,” the report states.

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