TORONTO, ONTARIO
Convenience Stores Call for Premier Ford to Honour His Promises
In an open letter, the Convenience Industry Council of Canada is proposing sales of 100% Ontario-produced alcohol in convenience stores. The organization proposes this would make not only it much more convenient for Ontario residents to buy Ontario-made beer, wine, or coolers but it would also help support local convenience stores and local alcohol producers to help recover revenue lost during the pandemic.
In the spirit of convenience, the organization has developed a web page that easily allows people to easily send a message to Premier Ford and Minister Bethlenfalv. https://www.chooseconvenience.ca/takeaction/
You can also say informed on this issue through their site as well: ChooseConvenience.ca.
Province Hands Tied by Agreement with Foreign Interests
But there is one massive obstacle. While Ford made promises to Ontario voters to get beer into convenience stores, there is a contract in place between the province, The Beer Store, and the three big brewers (all foreign-owned) until 2025. This contract restricts the number and type of retail outlets that can sell beer in Ontario.
Sources told the CBC back in 2019, that the penalties would potentially run into hundreds of millions of dollars, falling of course on taxpayers’ hands.
Sources
Convenience Stores Propose Made-in-Ontario Beverage Alcohol Sales
https://convenienceindustry.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/CICC-Press-Release-Made-in-Ontario-Alcohol_EN_Final_.pdf
Doug Ford’s beer promise could create hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/doug-ford-beer-corner-convenience-store-ontario-1.5101868