It has been 80 years since the end of prohibition, however here in Ontario very little has changed when it comes to the sale of alcohol.



In this province, consumers are required to purchase alcohol from either The Beer Store, or the LCBO. For decades these two retailers have held a strong monopoly over the sale alcohol, included a secret agreement allowing only The Beer Store to sell 12 packs and 24 pack of beer in Ontario.



The Beer Store is currently owned and controlled by big three major foreign multinationals brewers, which lays claim to 80 per cent of beer sales in the province



According to a study by Earnscliff Ontario, The Beer Store, and by extension its owners, was making roughly $700 million in incremental profit because of The Beer Store’s distribution position in the Ontario market.



The Beer Store’s corporate owners have donated more than $1.1-million to Ontario politicians in the past decade securing their control over their one of a kind monopoly.



In 2005, then Finance Minister Greg Sobara said "The current system is a patchwork of policies and agreements dating back to the 1920s and the end of prohibition," when launching a complete review of the sale and distribution of alcohol in Ontario. The review recommended that the current system should be completely overhauled and be opened to the private market. However, the government choose to ignore the report and do nothing.



Recently, the Ontario Government announced they would begin to “modernize” the sale of alcohol with a “new” agreement with The Beer Store, which would allow 450 grocery stores to sell 6 packs of beer with the potential to include wine sometime in the future.



However the “new” agreement protects the The Beer Store as the only retail to sell 12 or 24 cases of beer in Ontario.



According to a recent Forum Research poll, 2/3rd approve of the plan to sell beer and wine in grocery stores.



Another poll completed by Angus Reid stated that 69% of Ontarians want to see more private sector retailers selling beer to complete with The Beer Store.



So if the majority of consumers in Ontario agree that it is time to make changes, why is the government so set on protecting this current patchwork system?



Imagine an Ontario where you are able to make one stop before heading to the cottage on that Canada Day long weekend.



It is time to overhaul Ontario's current patchwork system to start Putting Consumers First.

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