With a Blue Ribbon panel in Ontario currently looking at “monetizing” provincial assets, it struck me that this panel, the provincial government, and possibly some Ontarians, are asking all the wrong questions, particularly when it comes to the sale and distribution of wine and beer.

It’s no coincidence that former premiers David Peterson and Mike Harris both ran successful campaigns that included the sale of beer and wine in corner stores. Ontarians overwhelmingly support greater convenience and competition in this area. A recent poll by Mainstreet Technologies found that 70% of Ontarians want major changes to the private monopoly that is the Beer Store, and earlier polls on the LCBO have had similar results.

When CFIB (Canadian Federation of Independent Business) polled its members in Ontario to gauge small business sentiment on the issue, asking if more private retailers should be allowed to sell wine and beer, the results echoed those of the public poll, with close to 70% of small business owners supporting the move. Far from being a self-serving result, small business owners, most of whom don’t stand to benefit, know that consumers are always better served by a competitive market, and that Ontarians deserve to have a real choice.

The current system combines a classic government-run monopoly (the LCBO) with a foreign-owned big business monopoly (The Beer Store). Instead of using its substantial buying power to drive down prices for consumers, the LCBO simply accepts the vendor’s asking price, and tacks on its standard mark-up.

The result is healthy profits for the government and higher prices for consumers.

The Beer Store is another story altogether, but no better for Ontarians. The fact that 45% of Ontarians think it’s owned by the government is concerning. The fact that the three big multinationals that actually own it are offering Ontario brewers a piece of the pie is a nice notion, but comes too little, too late.

They are not really giving up ownership, they are trying to get the public on their side.

The government has no interest in changing a system that runs all liquor sales in the province on a monopoly basis, and the simple reason is money: $1.7 billion a year in profits from the LCBO and an additional $570 million in taxes. The current government is not the only one to blame for the status quo monopoly. In fact, all three major political parties have had the opportunity to change it when in power, and did not. But like a bad habit, it’s hard to just say no to a steady $2.2 billion a year.

Opening beer and wine sales to smaller local retailers would lead to a triple-hit of lost revenue for the government: Lost sales for the LCBO, lower profit margins due to competitive pricing, and same tax rate on cheaper wine and beer would mean, you guessed it, less for the tax man. That’s not appealing to any government ... and certainly not to one that has a $12.5-billion budget gap.

On the contrary, they want to further “monetize” this gigantic cash cow. Any talk of perhaps letting large grocery stores sell beer or offering Beer Store shares to craft breweries are all meant to bring more revenue to the provincial government, while appeasing consumers with the semblance of increased competition.

A beer monopoly owned by 50 breweries might be more attractive to Ontarians than one owned by three foreign giants, but it’s still a monopoly. Selling 24-packs of beer at the LCBO or even at the large grocery store does little for competition.

This conversation should be about getting better service and better deals for Ontarians, and that can only be accomplished through a market that is truly open to all business — big and small.

— Nicole Troster is Ontario director of provincial affairs for Canadian Federation of Independent Business