![]() ![]() While sources are certain the government will terminate the agreement, they're uncertain about what will replace it. The agreement will remain in effect until the end of 2025, so the termination notice "is just the starting gun" for a two-year transition to a more wide open retail market, says a source in the craft beer industry. Here's what's worked - and what should come nextīut it limits the number of grocery locations to 450, precludes them from selling anything larger than a six pack, and bars convenience stores from selling beer (although 7-Eleven has been approved for liquor licences for on-site consumption with food at nearly all of its Ontario stores). Does The Beer Store help local craft breweries make sales? These London, Ont., brewers weigh in."It's a lot of money at stake," said a source in the wine industry. Will spirits be part of the retail reform, including the sale of ready-to-drink products such as vodka coolers or hard seltzers in grocery and convenience stores?Īt its most fundamental level, much of the negotiations boils down to who gets the opportunity to make money off the various points of the alcohol supply chain, and how much.Will craft breweries be allowed to open more retail outlets, and will they get the tax cuts they're seeking?.How big of a presence will the Beer Store maintain, and will it remain the only place Ontarians can bring back their empties for a deposit refund?.Will small Ontario vineyards get any help in competing against big Ontario wineries whose products can contain as much as 75 per cent imported wine?.Will retailers such as grocery and convenience stores be required to devote a certain amount of shelf space to Ontario-made beer and wine, or will they have total control over the inventory they stock?.Will the government shrink the LCBO's profit margins, including its take from products that other retailers sell?.Here's what they say are the issues at stake: All of them agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity, because the government required everyone involved in the consultations to sign non-disclosure agreements. CBC’s Mike Crawley explains.ĬBC News did lengthy interviews with eight people from across the beer, wine, spirits and retail sectors. Industry sources tell CBC News the Ford government is considering changes that go well beyond allowing corner stores to sell beer and wine. ![]() But multiple sources in various parts of the alcohol and retail industry say much more than that is on the table.ĭuration 2:23 Ontario's $10-billion-a-year retail market for alcohol is about to undergo a shakeup. ![]() The government has for months been engaged in closed-door consultations with industry players on what it calls "modernizing" the alcohol sales regime in Ontario.įor Ford's Progressive Conservatives, the chief goal is meeting a yet-to-be-fulfilled 2018 campaign promise to allow convenience stores to sell beer and wine. keeping LCBO revenues flowing into the provincial treasury. The looming reforms also pit a range of interests against each other, as big supermarket companies, convenience store chains, the giant beer and wine producers, craft brewers and small wineries all vie for the best deal possible when Ontario's almost $10-billion-a-year retail landscape shifts.Īs the negotiations proceed, the Ford government faces its own internal dilemma between its competing desires of giving the free market more control of booze sales vs. Industry officials expect the government's moves will affect how all types of alcohol are retailed. Premier Doug Ford's government is preparing to change the rules on how beer, wine, cider and spirits are sold in Ontario, and there's plenty at stake - well beyond whether you'll be able to pick up a case at the corner store.
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