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What were Molson and Labatt going to do? Go on corporate strike? Pull their products from a market of 14 million people, deny themselves billions in sales? So strange is the agreement, indeed, that a cynic is forced to observe that corporate donations were legal in Ontario at the time, and that the big brewers were very generous in this regard, and were well known to hold fearsome sway in Queen’s Park’s halls of power. A deal is a deal, it’s true. But some deals deserve to die.

At Fedeli’s press conference, a reporter asked what happens if the bill passes. What would be the process?

Tearing up contracts is never a good look for a government. But some contracts deserve to die

But that’s the absolute beauty of it: Nothing happens. It’s not like a no-deal Brexit. If the bill passes June 6, The Beer Store wakes up June 7 as the crushingly dominant beer retailer in a province of 14 million thirsty people, with an efficient distribution system of which it constantly boasts.

If the post-monopoly universe unfolds semi-coherently, whether negotiated or by government fiat, The Beer Store would be well placed to serve as a wholesaler for new retailers — and to remain the go-to location for the cheapest retail deals on mass-market brands. “We remain hopeful The Beer Store will see the immense opportunities in (retail) expansion,” Fedeli said. It might prefer the status quo — why wouldn’t it? But that seems a safe bet.

Ontarians shouldn’t allow themselves to be oversold. Retail lobbies are waxing enthusiastic about jobs and GDP growth. But the government has marketed liquor retail expansion mostly as a boost to convenience and choice — and Ontarians should be highly skeptical of any promises that go beyond that, especially on price. Beer will likely cost considerably more at corner stores than in other retail environments, and more at fancy grocery stores than at lower-end supermarkets and big box stores and The Beer Store.

That is to say, beer retail would resemble most every other kind of retail, instead of some bizarrely long-lived post-prohibition mutation controlled by foreign-owned corporations. That is to say, you’ll be able to buy a 12-pack with your groceries like a normal human being living in a normal country. There are no good reasons that’s not already the way it is, and no good reasons not to make it so other than a contract that never should have been signed in the first place. However the status quo meets its demise, no one should mourn it.

• Email: cselley@nationalpost.com | Twitter: cselley