The Beer Store Monopoly: Should consumers have more choice?
Today, many will stock up for the Victoria Day weekend, but the Beer Store is one of the few places they can go to buy their brew. Beer sales are regulated differently from province to province, but in Ontario, there's a fight over who can sell it....
Today, many will stock up for the Victoria Day weekend, but the Beer Store is one of the few places they can go to buy their brew. Beer sales are regulated differently from province to province, but in Ontario, there's a fight over who can sell it.
Bob and Doug MacKenzie may be discouraged that twist tops have come to Canadian beer bottles, but they might be happy to know their old place of employment-- the Beer Store, has barely changed.
Right now, besides the government-run LCBO, The Beer Store is the retailer that sells beer. It's a monopoly owned by three international breweries. Critics say consumers deserve more choice.
"I think there's room for everybody."
- Chris Wilcox is the General Manager of the Quickie Convenience Stores and is on the board of the Ontario Convenience Stores Association.
- Jason Fisher is a craft brewer and the owner of the Indie Alehouse Brewpub in Toronto. He sells his beers out of the brewpub, and not in the LCBO or The Beer Store.
- Martin Regg Cohn is the provincial affairs columnist for the Toronto Star.
- Jeff Newton is the President of Canada's National Brewers and a spokesman for The Beer Store. He was in our Toronto studio.
- Nick Pashley is the author of Cheers! An Intemperate History of Beer in Canada.
Do you think The Beer Store's monopoly should continue?
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This segment was produced by The Current's Lara O'Brien, Sujata Berry, and intern Deanne Bender.