The changes in wine and beer retailing the Ontario government will roll out later this year will bring a long-overdue modernization to Ontario’s antiquated booze retail regime — and those changes will be bigger than the public has so far been led to believe.
The government has talked about wine and beer in corner stores and big box stores, but senior government sources say the retail liberalization “will extend to as many points of sale as the market will bear.”
Expanding beer and wine sales to more types of retailers is a sound move, but the public won’t get full value until the government decides to stop setting prices for beer and wine. In a speech last week, Finance Minister Vic Fedeli talked about competition driving down the price. That can only happen if the government decides these beverages are like any other kind of product.
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