..... then sue the Ontario government!

"Do you have deep pockets punk ..... well do you?"

Mission Statement

We make a difference in Ontario by being a best in class, socially responsible customer-focused and profitable retailer of beverage alcohol.

Mandate

The mandate of the Board is to supervise the business affairs of the LCBO. Among its most important responsibilities are:

• Ensuring that the LCBO provides high-quality service to the public

• Developing and approving the strategic plan and monitoring management's success in meeting its business plan

• Approving annual financial plans

• Ensuring that the organization remains financially sound

• Assessing the management of business risks

• Submitting an annual financial plan to the Minister of Finance

• Ensuring the organization has communications programs to inform stakeholders of significant business developments

• Ensuring that the LCBO performs its regulatory role in a fair and impartial manner

Good Day Readers:

Rather than plying the other Premiers with British Columbia chardonnay, Christy Clark should be more than just another pretty political face and do something concrete. Use your administration's considerable taxpayer largess to sue the Ontario goverment. Is Kathleen "Old stick in the mud" Wynne's administration's living up to its Liquor Control Board of Ontario's mission statement and mandate?  Besides, does Ms Wynne's position not contravene a federal law? Hell, British Columbia and Manitoba have already made the adjustment.

Besides, Ms Clark, such a lawsuit would do wonders to improve Ontario-British Columbia relations.

Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk

Ontario won't losen up importing laws any time soon: Wynne
Adrian Morrow/Josh Wingrove
Niagara-on-the-lake, Ontario

Thursday, July 25, 2013

British Columbia Premier Christy Clark plied her Ontario counterpart with a fine Okanagan chardonnay, but it wasn’t enough to persuade Kathleen Wynne to loosen up the province’s protectionist practices on importing wine.

Ms. Clark and Ms. Wynne met on the sidelines of the premiers’ summit – a meeting to which Ms. Clark brought a bottle of Stewart Family Reserve from Quail’s Gate – to discuss Ontario’s prohibition on individuals direct-ordering their vino from across provincial boundaries.

Afterward, Ms. Wynne said she would not allow the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, the government-run corporation that holds a virtual monopoly on alcohol sales, to open up the borders.

“I think that it behooves a bigger conversation than that; I don’t think just a directive from one premier or another,” she said during a break in the heart of Ontario’s Niagara wine country. “I think we need to look at other practices across the country, and how can we expand markets for Canadian wine in general.”

Last year, the federal government repealed a Prohibition-era law that banned people from bringing booze across provincial borders. So far, only B.C. and Manitoba allow buyers to direct-order wine, with Nova Scotia also pursuing changes.

But Ontario has continued to insist wine cannot be directly ordered across provincial lines without going through the LCBO. The province argues this trade barrier is needed to protect its homegrown wine industry. The barrier also ensures the government collects tax and other revenue from markups on the wine.

Rowland Dunning, executive director of the Canadian Association of Liquor Jurisdictions, argues wine shouldn’t be treated differently from beer or liquor. “Why should Ontario residents subsidize B.C. wineries by ordering direct and avoiding taxes and markup?” he said in an interview.

n Albas, a B.C. Conservative MP who sponsored the bill that lifted federal restrictions on interprovincial wine sales, argued Ontario actually has the most to gain from an open market, since it has the country’s largest wine industry. “We are removing hurdles and making slow, steady progress, but ultimately these are political decisions,” he said.

Even Ontario’s wine industry supports a more open system.

“It’s actually called modern wine retailing. That’s what they do all around the world,” said Hillary Dawson, president of the Wine Council of Ontario.

Ultimately, the interprovincial wine trade amounts to “virtually nothing” in Ontario, said Patrick Gedge, president of the Winery and Grower Alliance of Ontario. It mostly involves a handful of connoisseurs and high-end restaurants buying from small wineries that do not produce enough to even sell to the LCBO.

Ms. Clark leaned on exactly this argument: that there would be no harm in changing the system. And if that line of reasoning doesn’t work on Ms. Wynne, there’s always the chardonnay.

“I presented her with a beautiful bottle,” Ms. Clark said. “I think after she samples that, we’re going to make some significant progress on this file.”