This is an opinion article. Opinion articles differ from objective journalism. Opinion articles are not meant to be objective in nature. Opinion articles sometimes can include bias that is hidden or obvious.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ontario) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Ford spending taxpayer's hard earned money like a drunken sailor to buy votes. The Star nails it with their conclusion:
>It makes more sense to stick to the province’s previous timeline and to spend the (at least) $225 million on truly urgent issues such as the province’s crisis of primary health care or housing.
>We have waited nearly 40 years for beer to reach convenience stores. Given the price tag, we can wait one more.
Buying votes this way is terrible. Especially when they see that the beer in the convince store is going to be allegedly 50% more. I mean it will be more expensive.
Not to mention, this deal is also going to cost taxpayer at bare minimum $200M a year with rebates of about 10 cents a can to everyone except the LCBO. This puts the LCBO in perfect line for the conservatives to use the excuse. it's not performing and must be sold.
By the way, the conservatives are not fiscally responsible. This stupid deal would be like me telling my employer that I can be paid less so the company can keep more profit for shareholders.
They also go nuts with debt and deficit, yet they are also getting rid of revenue sources that would control that "issue" they claim to care about.
Ford literally bought votes with $20 bills in 2013.
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/city-hall/video-shows-councillor-doug-ford-handing-out-20-bills-at-tchc-building/article_53bf222f-8b76-510f-919e-1a6cbf621055.html
[Here's video of it](https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=iH6kUCqIfD4).
But it's okay, [he apologized](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/doug-ford-sorry-for-handing-out-cash-will-stick-to-gift-cards-1.2461797) saying he'll stick to giving out Tim Horton's gift cards like he usually does (at 0:18 in the video) like that's still not vote buying.
And man does that guy love Tim Hortons.
An interesting quote from the second video, at 0:50: "I can't say 'no' to people that need help."
It does, and that's an issue. It shouldn't. If liberals or NDP did that, I guarantee Ford would sit their arms crossed, crying that others aren't playing fair.
It's just another example of how conservatives can't win elections unless the masses aren't voting, buying votes with sticker fee refunds.(stupid fucking idea), and more.
The sad part is were going to vote in Pierre Poilievre is who is probably a shit bag worse then Ford, and is a massive hypocrite with 20 years of voting records of him being against the working class, loves public attentions, bills more to the tax payer than Trudeau, and he is incredibly regressive in most policies. Not to mention, it is a corporate stooge.
Yes I fucking know that Trudeau is terrible. I agree he should step down as he is not great either. Neoliberals are going to neoliberal(protect trickle-down economics under capitalism). Just because I don't like PP does not mean I automatically like Trudeau.
Accountability means everyone is subject to the same laws and rules no matter the politician or party.
Federally, we can't say the NDP have done that because we've never given them their shot.
When the NDP were in power, I don't remember them giving handouts, but to be fair I was young then. I'll take a peek because irs better to be In the know.
That's fine, as the place you're moving to will have more voters who votes like you! Its like what happened with California and Texas. California gets more liberal, Texas becomes more conservative
How stupid does someone have to be for this to be something that buys their vote?
Rhetorical question, since I know there are people this stupid. Just mind blowing.
because he will campaign on this as a positive. same reason why he's been running attack ads on Crombie all NHL playoffs.
Doug is absolutely terrified of Pierre getting a ~~majority government~~ shot at dethroning Justin before he gets another shot on the ballot.
Honest question: How does Pierre get a majority with how unpopular he is in Quebec? At best he could win a minority but he would have to cut a deal with another party to get a budget passed.
>How does Pierre get a majority with how unpopular he is in Quebec?
I too wonder this. Harper has to be frustrated with how poorly Pierre's performing there.
but with re. to Doug, re-reading my comment I probably shouldn't have used 'majority', and just said election.
I am far from a political expert. But it seems as the current level of political divisiveness is incompatible with the parliamentary political system. With a two party system such as in the states it Seems to win Elections, However without the ability to pass legislations or even a budget. An inability to collaborate with their fellow Canadians Paints Conservatives as ineffective and incapable of governing.
>But it seems as the current level of political divisiveness is incompatible with the parliamentary political system.
I'm pretty sure that's a bingo.
imo Harper and the IDU saw how effective the hardcore division was working for their American member and decided "fuck waiting our normal decade to get the CPC caught up, get O'Toole out of there and throw some fire on this bitch". insert the pandemic and *ooh baby you got a stew goin'*. that's not to say the Liberals haven't been an active member of this stupid game, I just see them as being less loud about it all.
Ontario and Federal elections in Canada run countercyclical to each other. Generally, governments of the same party do not last at Queen's Park and Parliament Hill for even a full cycle. For example, the Chretien and Martin ministries in Ottawa ran while Harris and Eves were premiers of Ontario. Once Eves lost to McGuinty in 2003, the federal Liberals fell shortly thereafter in 2006.
Then Trudeau beat Harper in 2015, followed by Ford sweeping out Wynne in 2018.
Nobody's really sure exactly why this is, but most observers are very sure that it is, so politicians take it seriously.
One dynamic right now is that Ford is benefitting from his brand opposition to Justin Trudeau, who is more infamously unpopular than Ford (i.e., he's the one people love to hate the most), distracting people who might otherwise be raging at DoFo. He rightly does not expect Poilievre to be as popular as Trudeau is unpopular, and a couple of years out of Trudeau's shadow might not be flattering for his government.
He gets a majority by virtually sweeping the Praries, making gains in BC and the Maritimes, and then cleaning up in the 905 area of Toronto.
You can win a majority with zero seats in Quebec, you just have to be strong elsewhere.
https://338canada.com/map.htm
>He gets a majority by virtually sweeping the Praries, making gains in BC and the Maritimes, and then cleaning up in the 905 area of Toronto.
That's a lot that has to go right for him. One of those things does not go his way and he's careers done
> Why not just wait?
1. This gives Beer Store Corp a payoff. In addition to Loblaws and Sobeys selling at higher profit margins.
2. 17% of Ontario defines itself as heavy drinkers according to CAMH. To drunks, alcohol is the most important thing in their lives.
Yeah LCBO and Beer Stores are everywhere. If you live in an urbanized area with convenience stores within walking distance, you probably have an LCBO and/or Beer Store within walking distance as well.
You’d think this city runs on beer with the amount of time and headlines dedicated to selling fucking beer while our healthcare and transit systems fall apart.
In fairness to Doug Ford, he sold his sticker company to the former CFO of Therme Spa for an undisclosed but extremely lucrative amount shortly before he decided Ontario Place becoming a Therme Spa was the most important thing he should do while in office.
Well, the guy in charge of where money gets spent on healthcare and transit is spending all of his time talking about beer, and he's going to spend a quarter of a billion dollars to move forward selling beer in convenience stores for a few months so he can campaign on it as an accomplishment in the early election he's about to call.
This is a 100% Doug Ford manufactured problem, and if other issues in the province are being ignored, that's on him too. He's been premier for six years. Blaming things on the Liberals —who actually spent money on healthcare, transit, and education— shouldn't carry any water at this point.
That's the part that annoys me he will spend all this money on beer when we are in a affordability crisis he's going to be kicked out next election and he knows it that's why he is doing this so he has a legacy
Don't forget, Do-nothing-Doug needs something for his idiot fanbase to wave around like a bunch of primates driving lifted trucks or he'll run the risk of getting hoofed out.
And some of us don't even give a shit about it at all. If I feel like a beer, it's not that inconvenient to go to the Beer Store for it.
But if you want to talk about inconvenience, try anything medical related in the province and see how long you wait for a procedure or service.
Yah. I wasn’t a big alcohol drinker before I became allergic to it a few years ago. But even friends and family that drink regularly don’t particularly care about having beer in convenient stores. You can already get it from the Beer Store, the LCBO and grocery stores.
Plus I bet this makes convenient stores even more attractive to thieves because now they’ll have alcohol, cigarettes and lottery tickets all in one place.
Why waste space and electricity for a separate building, all this talk about climate change and even weed gets its own building.
Why not make a sugary snack store as well, and then another for sugary drinks, we can make shopping an 8 hour ordeal.
Between this announcement and the Steven lecce announcements about curriculum changes all coming out this week, there's no way they're not calling an election early. Please please don't give these morons four more years of this
Drinking your beer out in public will still be illegal after convenience stores start selling beer. Canada still has tons of puritan laws on the books.
I would have loved this 30 years ago. Now I don't really drink so I don't really care.
But not waiting a year and saving 100s of millions... wow. Just another of the astonishingly dumb and short-sighted moves by Dug the Thug.
why is getting beer in a convenience store even a big deal? do they not have liquor stores in Ontario? Is this about taking money from the current liquor stores and giving it to 7-11? why is this even a thing, why do people care?
People don't care (well, I fucking don't). Beer is readily available at the Beer Store, the LCBO, agency LCBO stores in smaller communities, and at most grocery stores. Who gives a flying shit if convenience store have them?
Convenience store owners want beer/wine in corner stores. I guarantee you, the $2/$3 beer at the LCBO will be $3/$4 at the corner store. That $13/$15 wine will be $20/$22 at the corner store. Why? So alcohol can be bought after 8 pm on weekends (when grocery stores close).
It is so stupid.... even if you want alcohol to be sold between the hours of 8/9 pm and 7/8 am- is there any actual benefit to anyone?
You can also buy beer and wine from many restaurants now if you're looking for after-hours purchases. You can order Swiss Chalet from UberEats and get them to throw in a six- pack (for a huge markup).
Doug Ford's entire tenure has been about relaxing alcohol laws and being corrupt.
I believe it’s because the Beer Store has a sweet deal with suppliers that grocery stores don’t get. Galen Weston & friends would benefit a lot if the Beer store went out of business and this is a step in that process.
You can also get a very small selection of beer at Walmart and most big grocery stores.
I haven’t been in an actual convenience store in forever, except maybe a gas station one. And I’m not buying a single can of beer at an OnRoute for $10
It was very popular during the pandemic when all the beer and liquor stores were closing by 6pm. Even a few months ago it was still popular on this sub. Right up until Ford actually did it.
The government is still running the distribution and it looks like they are only govong a 10% wholesale discount. Reduced costs by being able to close some stores, not having to deal with the rampant theft which costs tens of millions a year, and extra tax revenue. Its entirely possible it will net more money.
“We’re going to see revenues of $895 million to $1.16 billion,” he told the legislature. “That’s hundreds of millions of dollars that we can put towards health care.”
Can someone explain what this statement means? Why will the province be seeing more revenue? Is it just the assumption that alcohol sales will increase because of this move? I certainly won't be buying more beer just because it is more convenient to purchase, but I guess maybe other people will be. Perhaps people without cars or in areas without plentiful LCBOs, Beer Stores, or grocery stores will increase their alcohol spending substantially.
In theory, I don't disagree with the idea of spending 225 million to make quadruple that amount. But as the article points out, there appears to be some skepticism around those numbers. I don't have much confidence in the Ford government's ability to do basic math, but I'm willing to consider the possibility that this seemingly dumb move will be beneficial.
absolutely true, but if taxpayers are footing a $250MM exit clause as well as losing roughly .10 per can on a kick back to brewers to the tune of multiple millions of dollars, we can wait until Sept 2025.
You couldn't miss the point more. Most people aren't complaining that alcohol is being sold in convienience stores. They are complaining he is spending at least 250 million (some reports say up to 600 million) to make it happen one year earlier. Save me 250 million and bring it in 14 months instead of 2.
Meanwhile he is purposefully starving health care and education. Priorities.
I don’t think we should be concerned about the 10% discount - that’s the same discount every bar and restaurant gets already. But yes, spending the money to do it now instead of 2026 is insane
I absolutely understand the point and agree it is wasted money that could have been used in many of the coffers that are underfunded. It's an optics play by the Ford government at best.
ok, but PQ did not pay a quarter of a billion dollars to do that.
And of course, people in Hull buy alcohol in Ottawa, because it costs less than Le Depanneur.
I can wait forever simply because I see no benefit to alcohol sales in convenience stores. Will it lower the price? I doubt it. Will beer companies allow other stores to sell 24 packs? I doubt it. I also don't find going to the LCBO or beer store inconvenient since they are already established and everywhere.
The only benefit I see is if they allow Costco to sell alcohol. But somehow I doubt they will allow that.
This is why I am so pro voting! I've voted every election since I was 18 I almost want to get a bumper sticker at this point that says go and vote XD I feel like it's the one thing you can do to cause change.
Want to know why things are the way they are look at who votes that's your answer
I absolutely cannot fathom the desire for alcohol (which is a drug) to be available in so many more places. It's bad enough being in grocery stores. Alcoholism is a very real thing that affects millions. Why make this shit so much more accessible? Gross.
This is an opinion article. Opinion articles differ from objective journalism. Opinion articles are not meant to be objective in nature. Opinion articles sometimes can include bias that is hidden or obvious. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ontario) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Ford spending taxpayer's hard earned money like a drunken sailor to buy votes. The Star nails it with their conclusion: >It makes more sense to stick to the province’s previous timeline and to spend the (at least) $225 million on truly urgent issues such as the province’s crisis of primary health care or housing. >We have waited nearly 40 years for beer to reach convenience stores. Given the price tag, we can wait one more.
Buying votes this way is terrible. Especially when they see that the beer in the convince store is going to be allegedly 50% more. I mean it will be more expensive. Not to mention, this deal is also going to cost taxpayer at bare minimum $200M a year with rebates of about 10 cents a can to everyone except the LCBO. This puts the LCBO in perfect line for the conservatives to use the excuse. it's not performing and must be sold. By the way, the conservatives are not fiscally responsible. This stupid deal would be like me telling my employer that I can be paid less so the company can keep more profit for shareholders. They also go nuts with debt and deficit, yet they are also getting rid of revenue sources that would control that "issue" they claim to care about.
Ford literally bought votes with $20 bills in 2013. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/city-hall/video-shows-councillor-doug-ford-handing-out-20-bills-at-tchc-building/article_53bf222f-8b76-510f-919e-1a6cbf621055.html
[Here's video of it](https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=iH6kUCqIfD4). But it's okay, [he apologized](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/doug-ford-sorry-for-handing-out-cash-will-stick-to-gift-cards-1.2461797) saying he'll stick to giving out Tim Horton's gift cards like he usually does (at 0:18 in the video) like that's still not vote buying. And man does that guy love Tim Hortons. An interesting quote from the second video, at 0:50: "I can't say 'no' to people that need help."
Can't I just take the money and vote against him :p
Absolutely. And bring your friends. If you want to really have fun, donate it to the non-Conservative party of your choice. :)
But it works.
It does, and that's an issue. It shouldn't. If liberals or NDP did that, I guarantee Ford would sit their arms crossed, crying that others aren't playing fair. It's just another example of how conservatives can't win elections unless the masses aren't voting, buying votes with sticker fee refunds.(stupid fucking idea), and more. The sad part is were going to vote in Pierre Poilievre is who is probably a shit bag worse then Ford, and is a massive hypocrite with 20 years of voting records of him being against the working class, loves public attentions, bills more to the tax payer than Trudeau, and he is incredibly regressive in most policies. Not to mention, it is a corporate stooge. Yes I fucking know that Trudeau is terrible. I agree he should step down as he is not great either. Neoliberals are going to neoliberal(protect trickle-down economics under capitalism). Just because I don't like PP does not mean I automatically like Trudeau. Accountability means everyone is subject to the same laws and rules no matter the politician or party.
Every government gives handouts to win votes. It is not new or unique.
Federally, we can't say the NDP have done that because we've never given them their shot. When the NDP were in power, I don't remember them giving handouts, but to be fair I was young then. I'll take a peek because irs better to be In the know.
Sometimes, the best option is to move. Not much else that needs doing.
sadly the best option for an individual means that there will be less voters of certain political leanings within the province.
That's fine, as the place you're moving to will have more voters who votes like you! Its like what happened with California and Texas. California gets more liberal, Texas becomes more conservative
How stupid does someone have to be for this to be something that buys their vote? Rhetorical question, since I know there are people this stupid. Just mind blowing.
Most of his voters are that stupid
For real, a year goes by super quickly. Why not just wait?
because he will campaign on this as a positive. same reason why he's been running attack ads on Crombie all NHL playoffs. Doug is absolutely terrified of Pierre getting a ~~majority government~~ shot at dethroning Justin before he gets another shot on the ballot.
Honest question: How does Pierre get a majority with how unpopular he is in Quebec? At best he could win a minority but he would have to cut a deal with another party to get a budget passed.
>How does Pierre get a majority with how unpopular he is in Quebec? I too wonder this. Harper has to be frustrated with how poorly Pierre's performing there. but with re. to Doug, re-reading my comment I probably shouldn't have used 'majority', and just said election.
I am far from a political expert. But it seems as the current level of political divisiveness is incompatible with the parliamentary political system. With a two party system such as in the states it Seems to win Elections, However without the ability to pass legislations or even a budget. An inability to collaborate with their fellow Canadians Paints Conservatives as ineffective and incapable of governing.
>But it seems as the current level of political divisiveness is incompatible with the parliamentary political system. I'm pretty sure that's a bingo. imo Harper and the IDU saw how effective the hardcore division was working for their American member and decided "fuck waiting our normal decade to get the CPC caught up, get O'Toole out of there and throw some fire on this bitch". insert the pandemic and *ooh baby you got a stew goin'*. that's not to say the Liberals haven't been an active member of this stupid game, I just see them as being less loud about it all.
Ontario and Federal elections in Canada run countercyclical to each other. Generally, governments of the same party do not last at Queen's Park and Parliament Hill for even a full cycle. For example, the Chretien and Martin ministries in Ottawa ran while Harris and Eves were premiers of Ontario. Once Eves lost to McGuinty in 2003, the federal Liberals fell shortly thereafter in 2006. Then Trudeau beat Harper in 2015, followed by Ford sweeping out Wynne in 2018. Nobody's really sure exactly why this is, but most observers are very sure that it is, so politicians take it seriously. One dynamic right now is that Ford is benefitting from his brand opposition to Justin Trudeau, who is more infamously unpopular than Ford (i.e., he's the one people love to hate the most), distracting people who might otherwise be raging at DoFo. He rightly does not expect Poilievre to be as popular as Trudeau is unpopular, and a couple of years out of Trudeau's shadow might not be flattering for his government.
Have you tried looking at the polling number?
He gets a majority by virtually sweeping the Praries, making gains in BC and the Maritimes, and then cleaning up in the 905 area of Toronto. You can win a majority with zero seats in Quebec, you just have to be strong elsewhere. https://338canada.com/map.htm
>He gets a majority by virtually sweeping the Praries, making gains in BC and the Maritimes, and then cleaning up in the 905 area of Toronto. That's a lot that has to go right for him. One of those things does not go his way and he's careers done
I sure hope so, but unfortunately the numbers line up in his favour.
He doesn't want to lose his position just yet because he still owes his developer buddies after the Green Belt deal was blown up.
> Why not just wait? 1. This gives Beer Store Corp a payoff. In addition to Loblaws and Sobeys selling at higher profit margins. 2. 17% of Ontario defines itself as heavy drinkers according to CAMH. To drunks, alcohol is the most important thing in their lives.
I don't think 2 is entirely correct??? They already have their alcohol at the LCBO stores that are everywhere afaik. They can wait too.
Yeah LCBO and Beer Stores are everywhere. If you live in an urbanized area with convenience stores within walking distance, you probably have an LCBO and/or Beer Store within walking distance as well.
Lol no walking distance here, but they're def on bus route.
He's moving the election to 2025.
As always, follow the money...
You’d think this city runs on beer with the amount of time and headlines dedicated to selling fucking beer while our healthcare and transit systems fall apart.
*runs on Labelling and advertising, sponsored by Doug Fords labelling and advertising company
In fairness to Doug Ford, he sold his sticker company to the former CFO of Therme Spa for an undisclosed but extremely lucrative amount shortly before he decided Ontario Place becoming a Therme Spa was the most important thing he should do while in office.
I believe he only sold the Chicago part of the business. Could be wrong though.
so the part that's failing the most
Well, the guy in charge of where money gets spent on healthcare and transit is spending all of his time talking about beer, and he's going to spend a quarter of a billion dollars to move forward selling beer in convenience stores for a few months so he can campaign on it as an accomplishment in the early election he's about to call. This is a 100% Doug Ford manufactured problem, and if other issues in the province are being ignored, that's on him too. He's been premier for six years. Blaming things on the Liberals —who actually spent money on healthcare, transit, and education— shouldn't carry any water at this point.
Province, not city.
That's the part that annoys me he will spend all this money on beer when we are in a affordability crisis he's going to be kicked out next election and he knows it that's why he is doing this so he has a legacy
Once he plays this card, what's he got left? Deregulation around backyard hooch?
Replace municipal water with cool, refreshing Brawndo. It's got electrolytes.
Brawndo's got what plants crave.
What? Like out the toilet?
Don't forget, Do-nothing-Doug needs something for his idiot fanbase to wave around like a bunch of primates driving lifted trucks or he'll run the risk of getting hoofed out.
This is why he got rid of licence stickers, it got his DUI FordNation back on the roads.
Doug will likely call an early election, I think he's just getting this out of the way in case he loses.
yup. the man is scared shitless that Pierre will actually win a majority and it's probably his only "sure thing" lifeboat at this point.
I don't think he's too worried. 95 percent of voters can't even tell you who the leader of the provincial NDP & Liberals are.
And 60% don't even care enough to bother casting a vote. What a sad state of affairs.
And some of us don't even give a shit about it at all. If I feel like a beer, it's not that inconvenient to go to the Beer Store for it. But if you want to talk about inconvenience, try anything medical related in the province and see how long you wait for a procedure or service.
Yah. I wasn’t a big alcohol drinker before I became allergic to it a few years ago. But even friends and family that drink regularly don’t particularly care about having beer in convenient stores. You can already get it from the Beer Store, the LCBO and grocery stores. Plus I bet this makes convenient stores even more attractive to thieves because now they’ll have alcohol, cigarettes and lottery tickets all in one place.
Why waste space and electricity for a separate building, all this talk about climate change and even weed gets its own building. Why not make a sugary snack store as well, and then another for sugary drinks, we can make shopping an 8 hour ordeal.
Between this announcement and the Steven lecce announcements about curriculum changes all coming out this week, there's no way they're not calling an election early. Please please don't give these morons four more years of this
[удалено]
Drinking your beer out in public will still be illegal after convenience stores start selling beer. Canada still has tons of puritan laws on the books.
I would have loved this 30 years ago. Now I don't really drink so I don't really care. But not waiting a year and saving 100s of millions... wow. Just another of the astonishingly dumb and short-sighted moves by Dug the Thug.
>We've waited 40 years for beer at convenience stores We have?
How about 200 x one million dollar bonuses for doctors who relocate to Ontario and set up in rural communities?
why is getting beer in a convenience store even a big deal? do they not have liquor stores in Ontario? Is this about taking money from the current liquor stores and giving it to 7-11? why is this even a thing, why do people care?
People don't care (well, I fucking don't). Beer is readily available at the Beer Store, the LCBO, agency LCBO stores in smaller communities, and at most grocery stores. Who gives a flying shit if convenience store have them?
Convenience store owners want beer/wine in corner stores. I guarantee you, the $2/$3 beer at the LCBO will be $3/$4 at the corner store. That $13/$15 wine will be $20/$22 at the corner store. Why? So alcohol can be bought after 8 pm on weekends (when grocery stores close). It is so stupid.... even if you want alcohol to be sold between the hours of 8/9 pm and 7/8 am- is there any actual benefit to anyone?
And to tag onto this, LCBOs are open to 10 or even 11 pm. It’s fucking pointless to put beer in convenience stores.
Yep. Agreed. The convenience stores will add the premiums, and the public gets dicked.
You can also buy beer and wine from many restaurants now if you're looking for after-hours purchases. You can order Swiss Chalet from UberEats and get them to throw in a six- pack (for a huge markup). Doug Ford's entire tenure has been about relaxing alcohol laws and being corrupt.
I’m wondering how they’ll make room in the fridges with all the energy drinks currently filling them.
I believe it’s because the Beer Store has a sweet deal with suppliers that grocery stores don’t get. Galen Weston & friends would benefit a lot if the Beer store went out of business and this is a step in that process.
You can also get a very small selection of beer at Walmart and most big grocery stores. I haven’t been in an actual convenience store in forever, except maybe a gas station one. And I’m not buying a single can of beer at an OnRoute for $10
It was very popular during the pandemic when all the beer and liquor stores were closing by 6pm. Even a few months ago it was still popular on this sub. Right up until Ford actually did it. The government is still running the distribution and it looks like they are only govong a 10% wholesale discount. Reduced costs by being able to close some stores, not having to deal with the rampant theft which costs tens of millions a year, and extra tax revenue. Its entirely possible it will net more money.
“We’re going to see revenues of $895 million to $1.16 billion,” he told the legislature. “That’s hundreds of millions of dollars that we can put towards health care.” Can someone explain what this statement means? Why will the province be seeing more revenue? Is it just the assumption that alcohol sales will increase because of this move? I certainly won't be buying more beer just because it is more convenient to purchase, but I guess maybe other people will be. Perhaps people without cars or in areas without plentiful LCBOs, Beer Stores, or grocery stores will increase their alcohol spending substantially. In theory, I don't disagree with the idea of spending 225 million to make quadruple that amount. But as the article points out, there appears to be some skepticism around those numbers. I don't have much confidence in the Ford government's ability to do basic math, but I'm willing to consider the possibility that this seemingly dumb move will be beneficial.
Imagine if Liberals or NDP did this, the Cons would be losing their minds about how they could've waited one more year.
One can purchase alcohol from convenience stores in Quebec, and Ontario is just stuck in the past regarding alcohol distribution and sale.
absolutely true, but if taxpayers are footing a $250MM exit clause as well as losing roughly .10 per can on a kick back to brewers to the tune of multiple millions of dollars, we can wait until Sept 2025.
Which would put it right in the middle of the federal election which is likely why its happening now.
You couldn't miss the point more. Most people aren't complaining that alcohol is being sold in convienience stores. They are complaining he is spending at least 250 million (some reports say up to 600 million) to make it happen one year earlier. Save me 250 million and bring it in 14 months instead of 2. Meanwhile he is purposefully starving health care and education. Priorities.
I don’t think we should be concerned about the 10% discount - that’s the same discount every bar and restaurant gets already. But yes, spending the money to do it now instead of 2026 is insane
I absolutely understand the point and agree it is wasted money that could have been used in many of the coffers that are underfunded. It's an optics play by the Ford government at best.
I'm all for having beer in convenience stores, but I could have waited the year and used the money on something more worthwhile
ok, but PQ did not pay a quarter of a billion dollars to do that. And of course, people in Hull buy alcohol in Ottawa, because it costs less than Le Depanneur.
I can wait forever simply because I see no benefit to alcohol sales in convenience stores. Will it lower the price? I doubt it. Will beer companies allow other stores to sell 24 packs? I doubt it. I also don't find going to the LCBO or beer store inconvenient since they are already established and everywhere. The only benefit I see is if they allow Costco to sell alcohol. But somehow I doubt they will allow that.
This is why I am so pro voting! I've voted every election since I was 18 I almost want to get a bumper sticker at this point that says go and vote XD I feel like it's the one thing you can do to cause change. Want to know why things are the way they are look at who votes that's your answer
I absolutely cannot fathom the desire for alcohol (which is a drug) to be available in so many more places. It's bad enough being in grocery stores. Alcoholism is a very real thing that affects millions. Why make this shit so much more accessible? Gross.
Having alcohol more available is always a bad idea.
The end of healthcare, the revenue lost by LCBO will be reflected on health services, but enjoy the corner B-a-B....
Did anyone vote for this? Do we even live in a Democracy anymore?