mintjellie wrote:
Please, show me where I said Ontario needed to follow the US regulatory system. I didn't say that anywhere. I did say a craft beer culture like the US, but that doesn't necessarily speak of the regulatory system.
Exactly my point! But let me clarify. The general slant of your comments seemed to suggest that;
1) Better beer selection and cheaper beer prices are more widely available in the U.S. notably in neighboring states like NY and MI.
2) We could and should have similarly good selection and cheap prices here in Ontario.
3) The LCBO, TBS and big brewers are mostly responsible for preventing this.
4) Changing 3) will make 2) a reality.
Is that a fair summary of your argument? If so it's utopian and facile to suggest this can occur without taking into account all of the factors I raised for you.
mintjellie wrote:
I'm pretty sure I already said higher prices and better selection is my preferred poison, btw.
Good. At least you acknowledge the two are inescapably linked.
mintjellie wrote:
As for health and safety, labelling, unions, etc - Alberta has already done it and gotten better selection for it, right? BC has already partially done it, right? So what exactly is stopping it here in Ontario?
I'm not particularly well versed on the situation in Alberta beyond what I've read in the report I quoted earlier in this thread. However I'm well acquainted with the B.C. situation. The changes that have occurred here have happened fairly slowly (beginning in earnest around expo 86, more than 25 years ago). But the vital component that kicked it all off and allowed several stepping stones in the years that followed was;
1) Political will to change the system.
2) Less entrenched unions with a weaker bargaining agreement.
3) No beer store monopoly run by foreign owned, powerful corporations.
4) A smaller and less bureaucratic provincial liquor corp.
5) A less powerful lobby against deregulation.
How many of those factors are at play currently in Ontario? Again, not only is Ontario not the U.S., it ain't B.C. either. Your mountain is even steeper to climb.
Having said all that let me point something out to the newer posters in this thread. I've been around Bartowel since it started, almost a decade, and I have a well documented frustration with the Ontario system and a strong desire to see it change. But wishing it to change and realizing the reality of MAKING change is a step many of you have yet to take. It's akin to saying you're frustrated you can't play in the NHL because you already own cool skates and love the game so very, very much. There's a BIG gulf being overlooked there between desire and reality.
So here are the legitimate ways to make the system change (forgive me if some of these seem obvious to some of you);
1) Support local micros that make beer you want to drink. Change begins locally.
2) Support local beer establishments that sell good beer.
3) Support the LCBO's seasonal program by buying the good beers and validating their decision to bring them in.
4) Support local events that endorse and supply quality beer (Volo's various festivals, cask ale festivals, Project X days etc...)
5) Support organizations, like Free Our Beer, CASK, CAMRA and others that are already fighting the good fight to change the situation in Ontario
6) Write your local M.P.P., or talk to them in person, and make salient points to encourage them to support legislative change.
7) Encourage friends and family to drink better beer.
and last, and probably hardest of all, resist buying beer in the U.S.
If you truly want Ontario to change THAT is what is needed. Bitching here about wanting it to happen and wondering why it can't magically be different today will achieve absolutely nothing.
Cheers!
I don't always piss in a bottle but when I do...I prefer to call it Dos Equis.