It's S.B.D. In Ontario!

With apologies to my readers from outside of the province of Ontario, I will be talking about a provincial issue today that has been ongoing for quite some time.

It's S.B.D! That's Supermarket Beer Day! Today, December 15 2015, at 9:00am the first supermarkets allowed to sell six packs and singles of beer in Ontario opened their doors. In all, 58 Locations across the province are set to open today or very shortly.

An epic battle has raged on in Ontario for quite some time over the monopoly of The LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) and the 100% foreign-owned Beer Store. Many interested parties, including the 100 plus wineries in Ontario and the 220 plus Craft brewers want changes to the stranglehold the government and the foreign beer store owner have on the distribution of alcohol in Ontario. Ontario's liquor laws are archaic at best and some of the most inane in the country. Recently, British Columbia opened up their liquor laws to the public for suggestions on improvement. The bar owners, venue operators and manufacturers all had a say in how to improve the laws. In the end the Government agreed to 73 drastic changes to the liquor laws and they were put into effect almost immediately. Not long after than and shortly after Premier Kathleen Wynne took over here in Ontario a similar debate broke out. asking the province to privatise the liquor distribution in Ontario and break up the monopoly of the Beer Store. The Beer Store is currently licenced to sell beer at their own outlets across the province and are owned by the three largest brewers in Canada: Molson, Labatt, and Sleeman. (American owned, Dutch owned, and Japanese owned respectively). The LCBO is wholly government owned and they distribute wine, spirits, and beer. Breweries are allowed to sell their beer in their own pubs and bottle shops, and directly to licensees (bar owners, venue operators, restaurants). The Ontario government commissioned a report on changes that should be made to the Liquor laws however only one recommendation seemed to gain traction and that was beer sales in supermarkets. While it was not exactly a victory for the privatisation lobby, is was not a set back either. Let's call it a baby step. The government is testing the waters of the 21st century. There is room for improvement, but we will take what we can get right now.

Corrigan: From Toronto Star

Over the next 2 years a total of 450 supermarkets across the province will be permitted to sell six packs of beer or singles on their shelves. A minimum of 20 % craft beer must be maintained. (Loblaws has already committed to 50% Craft beer sales in all of their stores)

Is it what I wanted to see, well yes and no. The positives are that there will be double the amount of locations to buy beer in the province. However there is a lot of shady back room dealings going on around the whole thing. One of them that will become an issue, just as it has in the States, is the definition of "craft." Molson Has a "craft beer division" called Six Pints, it's a separate business unit that owns Creemore Springs and Granville Island breweries. But all of their money heads south of the border. Labatt bought Mill Street Brewery. Are these places still craft beer? Especially when large scale operations come in and buy them and then quintuple their production capacities, Like Creemore did, or GIB, or Keith's or Kokanee. What little protection that has been put into place to protect the guy down the street working 18 hour days to brew, package, and market his small craft beer, could turn into the rope used to hang him.

The system needs a re-boot. From the ground up. It's going to be time consuming and expensive, but it has to be done. I personally like the LCBO, despite its flaws In my mind I see the LCBO and the Beer Store merging into one entity and continuing to regulate alcohol sales province wide. However, I also see a larger private distribution system that can purchase from Ontario manufacturers directly or out of province manufacturers directly, or private importers, or the LCBO. I also see breweries able to sell beer from other brewers as well as beer wine and spirits in supermarkets. And I also see room for electronic purchases and home shipping (especially for beer bloggers like me!)

Well as I said, baby steps. Any forward momentum can be seen as something good.

Below is a list as of today of the stores licenced to sell beer. From CBC Full article here )

Head out and show them some support so them government can see more change is necessary.


Cheers

CJT

Greater Toronto Area

Aurora

• Sobeys —15500 Bayview Ave.

Etobicoke

• Loblaws — 380 The East Mall.

Georgetown

• Real Canadian Superstore — 171 Guelph St.

Milton

• Metro — 1050 Kennedy Cir. 

Mississauga

• Michael-Angelo's — 4099 Erin Mills Pkwy.
• Loblaws — 5010 Glen Erin Dr.

Newmarket

• Real Canadian Superstore — 18120 Yonge St.
• Metro — 16640 Yonge St.

Oakville

• Longo's​ — 3455 Wyecroft Rd.
• Longo's​ — 2501 Third Line.
• FreshCo — 469 Cornwall Rd.

Oshawa

• Real Canadian Superstore — 1385 Harmony Rd. N.

Pickering

• Metro — 1822 Whites Rd.

Richmond Hill

• Sobeys — 11700 Yonge St.

Toronto

• Coppa's Fresh Market — 4750 Dufferin St.
• Galleria Supermarket — 865 York Mills Rd.
• Real Canadian Superstore — 51 Gerry Fitzgerald Dr.
• Real Canadian Superstore — 2549 Weston Rd.
• Loblaws — 17 Leslie St.
• Loblaws — 50 Musgrave St.

Vaughan

• Coppa's Fresh Market — 3300 Rutherford Rd.
• Galleria Supermarket — 7040 Yonge St.
• FreshCo — 800 Steeles Ave W.

Whitby

• Farm Boy — 360 Taunton Rd.

West Ontario

Cambridge

• Zehrs — 400 Conestoga Blvd.

Guelph

• Metro — 500 Edinburgh Rd. S.

Hamilton (Ancaster)

• Sobeys — 977 Golf Links Rd.

Hamilton

• FreshCo​ — 700 Queenston Rd.
• Fortinos — 65 Mall Rd.
• Food Basics — 505 Rymal Rd. E.
• Starsky Fine Foods — 685 Queenston Rd.

Kitchener

• Real Canadian Superstore — 875 Highland Rd. W.

London

• Farm Boy — 1415 Beaverbrook Ave.
• Walmart Supercentre — 1280 Fanshawe Park Rd.
• Real Canadian Superstore — 1205 Oxford St.
• Food Basics — 509 Commissioners Road W.

Niagara Falls

• Food Basics — 3770 Montrose Rd.

Paris

• Sobeys — 307 Grand River St. N.

Windsor

• Real Canadian Superstore — 4371 Walker Rd. 

East Ontario

Kanata

• Sobeys​ — 700 Terry Fox Dr. 
• Sobeys — 840 March Rd.

Kingston

• Loblaws — 1100 Princess St. 

Lindsay

• La Mantia's Country Market — 50 William St. S.

Nepean

• Metro — 3201 Strandherd Dr.

Orillia

• Food Basics — 975 West Ridge Blvd

Ottawa (Orleans)

• Farm Boy — 2030 Tenth Line.

Ottawa

• Loblaws — 1980 Baseline Rd.
• Real Canadian Superstore — 760 Eagleson Rd.
• Sobeys — 193 Metcalfe St.

Peterborough

• Sobeys​ — 1200 Lansdowne St W.
• Sobeys — 501 Towerhill Rd.

Stittsville

• Brown's Your Independent Grocer — 1251 Main St.

North Ontario

Sault Ste. Marie

• Pino's Get Fresh — 219 Trunk Rd.

Sudbury

• Walmart Supercentre​ — 2416 Long Lake Rd.
• Walmart Supercentre — 1349 Lasalle Blvd.

Thunder Bay

• Real Canadian Superstore — 971 Carrick St.
• Safeway​ — 115 Arthur Street W.
• Safeway — 1015 Dawson Rd.