Beer Store launches ad campaign against Ford government as debate around alcohol sales intensifies

The ads are paid for by Canada’s National Brewers, a group that previously praised the Ford government’s move to scrap a new beer tax increase in Ontario.

On Friday, United Food and Commercial Workers Union Canada Local 12R24, the union representing Beer Store employees, launched its own ad campaign “to raise public awareness about the high costs to beer lovers.”

The union claims, like in the Beer Store ads, that 7,000 employees would lose their jobs from Ford’s policies and that high taxes are at the root of expensive alcohol in the province, not the distribution method.

LISTEN: Alan Carters speaks with Beer Store manager Glenn Howard

In Ontario, beer tax rates vary depending on the type of brewery and beer. The highest basic beer tax amounts to 89.74 cents per litre for non-draft beer made by Ontario manufacturers, while the lowest is 33.41 cents per litre for draft beer made by Ontario brewpubs.

In an interview with Global News on Sunday, Ken Hughes, the province’s special adviser for the Beverage Alcohol Review, said that high alcohol taxes are just “one small factor in a much more complicated project.”

High beer costs, Hughes said, are a result of “a number of factors including the model by which beer is distributed in Ontario.”

When asked if the government is considering lowering beer taxes in a bid to lower prices, Hughes said that is not currently being looked at.

In response to inquiries regarding ad campaigns, Robert Gibson, the press secretary for Finance Minister Vic Fedeli, told Global News that the claims surrounding the costs associated with the liberalization of the laws are “ridiculous.”

“It would be premature and irresponsible to speculate or make assumptions about the results of our ongoing consultations and discussions,” Gibson said. “By expanding choice and convenience for Ontario consumers, we are also expanding opportunities for small businesses across the province. Local store owners, brewers and consumers all stand to benefit from an expanded market.”

Gibson added that they are also carefully analyzing any impact that expanded alcohol sales could have on the “safety and health of our communities” and impaired driving rates.

WATCH (November 2018): Doug Ford says government moving forward with extended LCBO, Beer Store hours

0:24 Doug Ford says government moving forward with extended LCBO, Beer Store hours

—With files from Alan Carter and Matthew Bingley