{"id":175552,"date":"2018-08-08T00:09:43","date_gmt":"2018-08-08T04:09:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=175552"},"modified":"2018-08-08T00:09:43","modified_gmt":"2018-08-08T04:09:43","slug":"ontario-offer-incentives-brewers-buck-beer-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/08\/08\/ontario-offer-incentives-brewers-buck-beer-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Ontario to offer incentives to brewers in buck a beer plan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cNobody is being forced to lower their prices and there will be no subsidies or tax handouts.\u201d (Photo<\/a> by Doug Ford\/Twitter<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ontario launched its buck-a-beer plan Tuesday by offering \u201cnon-financial incentives\u201d to brewers who sell their beer for $1, prompting critics to question the Progressive Conservative government’s priorities and accuse the province of trying to deflect scrutiny on key issues such as education and the environment.<\/p>\n

Premier Doug Ford said participating businesses will be offered prime spots in Liquor Control Board of Ontario stores, or advertising in flyers or inserts, among other possible rewards.<\/p>\n

Speaking at a brewery in Picton, Ont., the premier said the program, which was one of his promises during the spring election campaign, will not cost taxpayers anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody is being forced to lower their prices and there will be no subsidies or tax handouts,\u201d Ford said, calling the move a \u201cwin-win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked whether he was concerned that cheaper beer might contribute to substance abuse and other harms, Ford said he trusts Ontario consumers to make smart choices when it comes to alcohol, regardless of the lower price.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf beer goes up in consumption over what \u2014 20 cents, 25 cents? We’re just trying to put money back in the consumer’s pocket,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople in Ontario are mature enough … to know when they’ve had one too many.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Progressive Conservative plan will lower the minimum price of a bottle or can of beer with an alcohol volume below 5.6 per cent to $1 from $1.25 starting Aug. 27 \u2014 a few days before the Labour Day weekend.<\/p>\n

Brewers would not be required to charge less, however, and the lower minimum price would not apply to draft beer, nor would it include the bottle deposit.<\/p>\n

The Tories have said a return to buck a beer would see more competition in the beer market without affecting the province’s revenues from beer and wine taxes, which government documents show brought in roughly $589 million in 2016-2017.<\/p>\n

Ontario previously had buck-a-bottle beer but the then-Liberal government quietly hiked the minimum price in 2008, citing its \u201csocial responsibility\u201d mandate.<\/p>\n

News of buck a beer’s return was met with concern from safety groups and criticism from the opposition parties.<\/p>\n

\u201cLowering the price of alcohol carries implications and risks for public safety,\u201d MADD\u00a0Canada\u00a0said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cLower alcohol prices can lead to increased consumption, particularly among those with alcohol problems, and among young people, and that increased consumption can in turn lead to increased alcohol-related problems, including impaired driving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ontario’s New Democrats said Ford’s efforts to reduce beer prices show his priorities are \u201ccompletely mixed up,\u201d and suggested the plan effectively gives subsidies to beer companies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese product placements or advertisements … have monetary value,\u201d said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath. \u201cHere we have a premier that’s cutting income to the very poorest amongst us as a priority and at the same time subsidizing buck a beer,\u201d she said, referring to the Tories’ plan to cancel a basic income pilot project.<\/p>\n

The LCBO said in a statement Tuesday night it will work on in-store displays, limited time offers and advertising with any beer supplier who agrees to meet Ford’s challenge to reduce the price of beer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are normal business expenses for our stores and no costs will be incurred to either LCBO consumers or Ontario taxpayers,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

The Greens said the beer program is an attempt to draw attention away from the government’s controversial decisions to revoke the updated sex-ed curriculum, scrap the basic income project and dismantle the cap-and-trade carbon pricing system.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter spending weeks ripping up contracts and curriculums, dismantling climate plans and pilot projects, this is the first time the premier has actually given us something. But instead of a climate plan or help for people living in poverty, it’s a cheap beer challenge,\u201d Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs this the premier’s priority? Does he think reducing the beer price floor from $1.25 to $1 will solve real problems?\u201d<\/p>\n

Some breweries were quick to say they would not reduce their prices, while others in the industry said the plan was financially unsustainable.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou definitely won’t see #FreshGLB take part in this,\u201d the Toronto-based Great Lakes Brewery wrote on Twitter. \u201cWe believe in our brands, take pride in our quality and firmly feel that are current prices are very fair.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eric Portelance, who co-owned Halo Brewery in Toronto until earlier this year, said the buck-a-beer challenge is \u201cinsulting\u201d to brewers and distorts the market by devaluing their product.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I ran my brewery we never made beer anywhere close to this cheap because of all the corners that need to be cut were unacceptable to us. It was difficult for us to make beer anywhere less than $2 per short can in costs alone,\u201d he said in an open letter to the government.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are also ‘challenging’ brewers to eat their margins at a time when their costs are going up significantly as a result of steel and aluminium tariffs which will impact the costs of equipment and aluminium cans. You couldn’t be more tone deaf on this subject.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steve Himel, co-founder and general manager of Henderson Brewing Co., also slammed Ford’s program.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody can make beer at $1 a bottle with the Ontario and federal taxes as they are. I don’t know if his plan was to make the breweries look greedy or just to underscore his populist direction, but it is ridiculous,\u201d he said, adding the move ignores the shift towards more complex and well-crafted beer.<\/p>\n

Ford has also vowed to expand the sale of beer and wine to corner and box stores.<\/p>\n

The premier was also asked about his plan for the sale of cannabis once it becomes legal in October, after some published reports said the province would allow private sector sales. Ford would not confirm or deny the reports, saying only that an announcement would come later.<\/p>\n

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Ontario launched its buck-a-beer plan Tuesday by offering \u201cnon-financial incentives\u201d to brewers who sell their beer for $1, prompting critics …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":175556,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-175552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news-ca","category-news","mauthors-paola-loriggio","mauthors-the-canadian-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/175556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}