Booze trade war erupts between Alberta and Ontario

Torontosun.com
November 27, 2018
Antonella Artuso

Alberta’s NDP government is launching an interprovincial booze trade challenge, arguing Ontario has unfairly kept its alcohol products off the shelves.

Jean-Marc Prevost, spokesman for Alberta’s Economic Development and Trade Minister Deron Bilous, said 25% of the Canadian alcohol products available in the province’s liquor stores come from Ontario. Just 0.01% of products sold at the LCBO are produced in Alberta, he said.

“We have no limits in Alberta for importing Ontario products,” Prevost said. “So the disparity is unfair.”

Alberta will challenge Ontario’s alcohol listing process through the fledgling Canadian Free Trade Agreement struck in 2017.

Once a complaint has been filed, Ontario will have 120 days to comply and begin stocking more Alberta products or go before a panel that will make a finding on the matter.

Ontario Economic Development Minister Todd Smith said his government is committed to reducing red tape and trade barriers between the provinces, and he hopes Alberta will join in that effort.

“Just last week, I sat across from representatives from the government of Alberta and not once did they mention this to me,” Smith said. “The government of Ontario is committed to reducing interprovincial trade barriers, as we made clear in our fall economic statement when we said we wouldn’t stand in the way of pipeline projects moving forward.”

According to information provided by the Alberta government, that province lists 3,700 alcohol products from the rest of Canada, including 745 from Ontario.
Ontario imports 20 Alberta products.

In order for a product to be sold in Ontario through the LCBO or other retailer, it must make it through a listing process that Alberta believes is arbitrary and discriminatory, Prevost said.

“There’s a variety of things they do before allowing a product to be listed -- and it includes taste testing, lab testing, looking at the advertisement and packaging – and at any step in that, they can decline to list an Alberta product,” he said. “And then once it’s in listing, then the LCBOs also gives preferential treatment to Ontario products over Alberta products.”

In comparison, Alberta has a one-page transparent listing process, he said.

Alberta has also announced that it will create a lower mark up for small craft beer brewers as it attempts to grow that industry. When Ontario first began allowing beer and wine sales in grocery stores under the Kathleen Wynne government, it made sure that its own provincial products were well-represented.

Premier Ford has said that he will expand alcohol sales to corner stores and big box stores.