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LCBO / The Beer Store

Should the LCBO be deregulated?


  • Total voters
    169
  • Poll closed .

Whoaccio

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Should we sell of the LCBO? It seems a bit odd that in the 21st century we have to buy our booze from government owned monopolies, no? I thought the temperance movement died out sometime before WWII. I think it is fairly accepted that the LCBO uses it's selling power to move alcohol prices upwards. Given that I am personally a bit of a puritan, I have nothing against that. But it specifically harms local beer producers who have no selling power and are far more sensitive to high prices which upsets me. I don't understand why we gave the "big brewers" license to set up a monopoly on beer sales. That was a horrible idea.

This is also a bit of a weird argument, but I don't like how, elsewhere, alcohol is sold in convenience stores. Something just strikes me as incredibly seedy about this, and I specifically dislike it. I give credit to the LCBO for "up marketing" drinking.
 
On one hand, I would prefer to buy the "basics" at local convenience stores, because I hate having to dash out to a faraway store at 8:45PM to buy a six pack on a Saturday night. On the other hand, I appreciate the economy of scale that allows the LCBO to offer more wine variety than practically any store I've seen in North America, save for a few specialty stores in Manhattan. And that's before you factor in the fact that you can buy rare Vintages in places like Sarnia, Cochrane and Brockville.
 
trust me you don't want to sell off the LCBO. Alberta made that mistake, and now liquor costs more, and there is less selection
 
I think Brewers Retail needs restructuring. The LCBO is fine, for the most part. My main issue is that it, as a monopoly, should be more accessible for small vendors (small breweries and wineries). The government wages bother me somewhat (paid double the going rate for retail).

I agree that the main appeal of deregulating the LCBO is ideological. I don't think it would help with price or selection. It would make it easier to buy booze from sometimes unscrupulous convenience store operators.
 
I was in new york state last week. Some of their liquor stores are the size of our big box wal marts! I couldn't believe the selection of wines they had, more than any LCBO store i have seen.
I also like the fact i can get beer at the grocery stores and gas stations like Quebec and most of the states. In some of these smaller ontario towns it can be a bit of a drive to a beer store or LCBO store.
I hate our beer stores here they carry very few micro brands. Even cheap brands like Bud light and Coors light are over priced. I got a 12 pack of Leffe last week on sale for 15 bucks at grocery store in Rochester :eek:
 
This is also a bit of a weird argument, but I don't like how, elsewhere, alcohol is sold in convenience stores. Something just strikes me as incredibly seedy about this, and I specifically dislike it. I give credit to the LCBO for "up marketing" drinking.


up marketing drinking? :confused: I would rather have one stop shopping than drive all over the city looking for a LCBO or a Beer store
 
trust me you don't want to sell off the LCBO. Alberta made that mistake, and now liquor costs more, and there is less selection

Really? I was under the impression that Alberta's alcohol, as well as most deregulated markets, had cheaper prices.

Another factor is that we could probably realize some big, one time, profits off of any sale. In a time of economic slowdown, could be useful. Plus, I am sick and tired of governments selling off crown corps when they are failing at firesale prices. At least an LCBO sell out would be from a position of strength.
 
I think Brewers Retail needs restructuring. The LCBO is fine, for the most part. My main issue is that it, as a monopoly, should be more accessible for small vendors (small breweries and wineries). The government wages bother me somewhat (paid double the going rate for retail).

I agree that the main appeal of deregulating the LCBO is ideological. I don't think it would help with price or selection. It would make it easier to buy booze from sometimes unscrupulous convenience store operators.

I agree with much of this.

Although I am unhappy with some of the LCBO's policies I don't want to consider the increased potential for convenience store robberies if alcohol is sold there, nor do I expect much of an improvement in selection overall. LCBO's are nice and secure; there are simply too few of them around and the selection could be improved along with late hours on Fridays and weekends.

Now, the Beer Store is one I'd like to see dismantled tomorrow...
 
I would like to see lower prices but deregulation of the LCBO would not acheive that. The taxes need to be lowered.

That said, I could do without all the unsightly stucco-box LCBOs going up everywhere. Ugh. That goes for the Beer Store too.
 
I think the LCBO has a good system going but a little updating wouldn't hurt.

Licenses should be granted to mom and pop corner stores to sell liquor. They would be regulated and checked for compliance of the rules. Stores breaking the rules would lose their licenses. It's really that simple.

I'd love to be able to buy beer and cheap wine for cooking at my local corner store.
 
That said, I could do without all the unsightly stucco-box LCBOs going up everywhere. Ugh. That goes for the Beer Store too.

There's a new two-floor LCBO going in on Avenue Road north (near Melrose) that looks kinda interesting, but I agree about the LCBoxes (I've coined another one!). The Beer Stores are worse, and about the most car-centric businesses in the province, apart from gas stations, car dealers and repair shops, even downtown.

I'd be up for the dissolution of Brewers' Retail, with grocery and specially-licenced corner stores permitted to sell beer and perhaps plonk. The system works well with small town agency stores, just require a closely-enforced licence to sell beer and wine.

As for the LCBO, allow them to sell beer in 12-cases at least, and have them improve their beer list, especially Ontario brews, to ensure that there remains a variety of beer. Try to encourage more locations, especially in dense urban areas.

Also, get rid of the remaining paternalistic laws about alcohol, like the $1/beer floor price. I'm okay with the taxes otherwise.
 
If by deregulated you mean letting other businesses sell liquor, beer, and wine, then YES. It's like having only Shopper's Drug Mart be the only place that can sell prescription drugs. I would rather buy my prescriptions elsewhere where the dispensing fee is cheaper. The same for liquor.

The LCBO is now a big box store. While they may have their place, they are not convenient for me, and is expensive.
 
Keep it the way it is. I don't want to have to phone around every convenience store in town to see if they've got my Minervois or Rioja in stock, when I'm parched and in extremis.
 

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