Dan Albas - Our Hero

Last night, the House of Commons unanimously passed Bill C311, which will allow Canadians to buy wine for personal consumption in one province and (gasp!) transport it to another province, including through online shopping.  (Read my post about the history of this prohibition here.)

The Bill now goes to the Senate for its sober second thought.  Let’s look forward to the Senate acting quickly and Royal Assent before the end of the current session.  (The words “Senate” and “acting quickly” are not written together very often but here’s hoping.)

Dan Albas

Ron Canaan

Cheers to rookie MP Dan Albas (Conservative – Okanagan-Coquihalla) for sponsoring the Bill and to all MPs for unanimous consent! And thanks to MP Ron Canaan (Conservative - Kelowna-Lake Country), who led the fight to change the law in the previous Parliament.

And congratulations to Free My Grapes, who conducted a classic advocacy campaign to push MPs to action.

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Lord Knows, I'm Doing My Bit

The LCBO has released the not yet audited results for its latest fiscal year, which ended March 31.  Sales = $4.71 Billion.  That sounds like a lot but it's "only" $450 for every Ontarian over the age of 18.  We're doing more than our share!  
It turned over profits of $1.63 Billion to the Ontario government, which doesn’t include the HST and excise taxes that the LCBO collects from us.  I shudder to think what our taxes would look like without the LCBO!  Or gambling!  The wages of sin, indeed.

This past year is the 17^th consecutive year that the LCBO has posted record sales.  And the 18^th consecutive year that it has set a new record for money it turns over to the government.  Through lean years and boom years, the LCBO keeps calm and carries on.

There’s some typical corporate self-flattery coming out of LCBO Headquarters, bragging about the strong sales growth shown by Ontario VQA wines and craft beers.  About time, folks.

More puffery here.

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The Law is a Ass

Buying wine in one province and bringing it into another province is illegal.

You read that right.  A federal law (the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act) that dates back to 1928  - just as many jurisdictions repealed prohibition - makes it a crime to transport alcohol across provincial boundaries. Unless, of course, you’re the provincial government’s own monopoly, in which case it’s OK. (That was the point of the law: to strengthen provincial liquor monopolies)

Now, I don’t know anyone whom the Crown has ever charged with this crime. And looking at the number of vehicles with Quebec license plates at Ottawa’s LCBO locations (and Ontario-plated vehicles at the SAQ in Gatineau), there’s not much of a deterrent to this common cross-border criminality.

Not that I’ve ever done it, of course.

But it's a bad law:  every law that is ignored by both citizens and law enforcement is a bad law.

It gets worse.  It’s also illegal for a winery in one province to ship its wine directly to a customer in another province. Heard about those great wines in BC? Want a few bottles? Not available at the LCBO? Sorry, you’re SOL…unless you buy it privately by the case through the LCBO (at their option, they don’t have to do it). There’s that monopoly again.

In a time when purchasing goods is just a click away, it’s way overdue to strike down this outdated law and one MP is leading the charge to wipe out a piece of it. Ron Cannan, Member of Parliament for Kelowna-Lake Country, has tabled Motion 601 in the House of Commons to allow Canadian consumers to purchase wine directly from Canadian wineries.

A group that calls itself the Alliance for Canadian Wine Consumers has launched a grassroots write-in campaign at freemygrapes.ca  They make it easy for you to join the fight by asking your own MP to support Cannan's motion.  Check it out.

Because the proposed exemption only covers the interprovincial sale of wine directly from Canadian wineries to Canadian consumers, the change won’t fix the ridiculous problem of criminalizing all cross-provincial-border shopping for wine.

But it’s a good start.

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Mind Your Own Business

The SAQ – Société des Alcools du Québec (it’s Québec’s equivalent of the LCBO) – has revealed that it’s going into the international liquor wholesale business. The idea is that the SAQ will increase its already significant buying power ($900-million annually) by acting as a wholesaler in liquor markets in other countries. As the buyer for both its customers in Québec and its new customers around the world, the SAQ will presumably get better prices all-around. The argument appears to be that huge buyers such as Costco (in the US), Tesco (in the UK) and emerging players in the BRIC countries are taking over the wholesale liquor business. It’s “go big or go home”.

Now, I believe, as a principle, that government has no place in running a business, either wholesale or retail. That includes the liquor business. I recognize that, in my grandfather’s day, many people viewed wine and spirits as the devil’s instruments. Yes, alcoholism can be a serious health issue. Alcohol also contributes significant health benefits. But there are ways for the government to play its role as protectors and promoters of public health without running everything from A to Z.

But, as we all know, principle is one thing. Practicality is something else. In Canada, liquor businesses run by the government have been a reality for generations now. Unwinding these operations, through privatization or deregulation, would be difficult and I haven’t yet come across a proposal that describes how government would accomplish this without significant disruption to the consumer. (Not saying government can’t do it, just haven’t seen the plan yet.) Not to mention that governments are addicted to the steady revenue stream from liquor and lotteries. That’s why every time that the Government of Ontario floats the idea of selling off the LCBO, it’s never too long before it quietly retreats.

We accept (grudgingly) the government’s current place in the liquor business within its jurisdiction. But it simply compounds a mistake when the SAQ – a government monopoly with all the benefits that bestows – moves beyond its borders and competes with private sector companies. Maybe the SAQ (and LCBO) should look at using Costco or Tesco as its wholesaler. I’m sure they’d like to get their hands on $900-million in business. In the meantime, SAQ, mind your own business!

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