End the 'beer-opoly'

[woodpecker]

nice to have something in print, and from a student perspective:
http://www.charlatan.ca/index.php?optio ... Itemid=152

End the 'beer-opoly'
by Wyatt Danowski


Whenever the need arises to buy a case of beer to facilitate socializing needs, Ontarions go to the trusty Beer Store to find quality beer like Alexander Keith, Rickard's or Budweiser.

Each time, it is like watching the stock market climb as alcohol prices rise.

It's burning a hole in student pockets and this is due to the unfair, ridiculous and frankly stupid monopoly of beer in Ontario - the Labatt, Molson and Sleeman brewing companies own the Beer Store where the majority of Ontarians buy their beer. The Beer Store shockingly controls a staggering 80 per cent of Ontario's $2.9 billion beer market.

Most people know that beer prices have been soaring during the past couple of years - most recently this past November. Due to the monopoly on the sale of beer, this has changed the beer drinking culture in Canada.

This government monopoly does not make it easier for the microbreweries, small bars, restaurant owners and corner-store operators. All these victims of the beeropoly continually complain about The Beer Store's maintaining high prices and limited choices on beer, thus directly affecting the consumer.

Studies have shown that ending the monopoly on beer will not have a negative impact for the government. These studies said the government could still maintain many social and environmental benefits, such as recycling the bottles and cans, while still letting other small businesses compete.

This problem of monopoly does not rest solely in Ontario. In Nova Scotia, it is against the law to sell alcohol for less than $2.50.

The problem lies in the price. For a poor student like me, I find it shocking that the minimum price of a case of beer has increased again. It rose from a flat $24 to $25.60; even though it's only a $1.60 increase, it still puts a burden on us.

Since alcohol prices are rising, our culture of drinking beer is ultimately changing. It is a simple cause and effect. Right now, it is cheaper to 'pre-game' at someone's house or at a private residence before going to the bar and buying drinks rather than heading to the bar completely sober. This is not our fault; it is the monopoly that makes us 'pre-game' - getting unnecessarily wasted beforehand.

When we ask our parents what they did back in their youth, I would bet the majority of responses would not include drinking excessively before going to a bar or dance club to have a good time. Yes, people did drink a lot of beer back then, but the price in beer was different to what we have to endure today, in the middle of a recession.

It is simply too expensive to buy alcohol at bars, or at The Beer Store, and the Ontario government should do something to address this problem.

One solution to this would be to follow our neighbours to the north and east, Quebec, and have public access to beer and alcohol. Just across the river in Gatineau, grocery stores and convenience stores sell beer to consumers while not having any LCBOs or Beer Stores. This allows competitive prices for consumers and ultimately better deals on brews.

It is also convenient and simple to do, but the problem is that the government will have to lessen its hold on the beer monopoly. I do not see this working in the future in Ontario, even though it works in the USA.

Whenever the price of beer increases, there is always going to be that increased incentive to drink at home and not go out. This 'pre-gaming' is new in our generation and this monopolization of beer must end immediately since beer, a Canadian symbol, is becoming too expensive for us to ingest, even in this era of a recession.

[SteelbackGuy]

While I agree with some of the points made in this article, the "poor student" schtick is wearing a little thin.

[GregClow]

Whenever the need arises to buy a case of beer to facilitate socializing needs, Ontarions go to the trusty Beer Store to find quality beer like Alexander Keith, Rickard's or Budweiser.

Well, that line alone tells you the knowledge level of the author. And not just because he misspelled "Ontarians".

It's burning a hole in student pockets and this is due to the unfair, ridiculous and frankly stupid monopoly of beer in Ontario - the Labatt, Molson and Sleeman brewing companies own the Beer Store where the majority of Ontarians buy their beer.

This government monopoly does not make it easier for the microbreweries, small bars, restaurant owners and corner-store operators.

Uh - how is the Beer Store a "government monopoly" when it's owned by three corporations? And foreign-owned ones, at that? It may be government facilitated, but that's the extent of it.

Since alcohol prices are rising, our culture of drinking beer is ultimately changing. It is a simple cause and effect. Right now, it is cheaper to 'pre-game' at someone's house or at a private residence before going to the bar and buying drinks rather than heading to the bar completely sober. This is not our fault; it is the monopoly that makes us 'pre-game' - getting unnecessarily wasted beforehand.

Two words: BULL. SHIT.

I "pre-gamed" 20+ years ago at university. Getting drunk before going out to get drunk is a Canadian tradition, for chrissake.

And if beer is too expensive at the Beer Store, then how does "pre-gaming" help? Wouldn't drinking less both at home and at the bar make more sense? (Yeah, I know - it's a college student writing this, so an argument that involves "drinking less" doesn't compute...)

And not just in reference to this article, but to the "topple the Beer Store" topic in general:

Can we PLEASE stop calling the Beer Store a "monopoly"? Because it's not. You can also buy beer at the LCBO, which means that there's a duopoly for beer sales in Ontario.

(Although even that's technically incorrect, since breweries are allowed to sell beer directly to consumers on-site...)

[tupalev]

That's a pretty poorly written article. I appreciate you posting articles for discussion Mr WoodPecker, but you may want to set your standards a tiny bit higher.

[$]

Perhaps the government needs to include a beer allowance with university grants?

Complaining about beer being too expensive for students is nonsense. It's too expensive for everyone. Next thing there will be student discounts, and we'll all pay for that on top of subsidizing their education that they are drinking away.

[Magni]

What a whiney article.
As a student I'd rather not be represented in this fashion.
IN FACT I went out last night. I wen't to a mates house, shared bottle of Inniskillin 2007 Cab So with a friend and proceeded to the bar where i spent more than a few dollars.

But to be honest nowhere in my mind did I think that I was A) going to be drinking a 24 of beer. B) Worrying about a measly 1.60 out of my food budget to "get crunk" and to be honest if you have this much time to be writing articles about how you can't get as drunk with your buddies as you could a couple months ago, then you probably are wasting your money at school where your time and money should be spent doing something worthwhile... like your homework?

Yes. Alcohol is expensive, but so is doing things like getting absolutely wasted; if you drink in moderation and don't get drunk like every other jacked up gold chain wearing frat boy, you might be able to save some money and time, and with that time perhaps... run your article through spellcheck?

[Magni]

ok so that was a bit harsh but really.
It aggravates me to hear students complaining about the price of alcohol when there are more important things they could be doing.

[tuqueboy]

Perhaps the government needs to include a beer allowance with university grants?

i thought OSAP was a beer allowance.

[kinguy]

Perhaps the government needs to include a beer allowance with university grants?

i thought OSAP was a beer allowance.

Well, in my day it stood for Ontario Stereo Assistance Plan, but I guess it could easily be Ontario Suds Assistance Plan.

[Inkling]

I commend anyone for publicly taking a stand against the "government-facilitated" Beer Store monopoly. Good for him, it's only through continued whinging that anything is going to get done.

At the same time, I think the monopoly issue is completely separate from the price issue. There'd be nothing preventing the province from setting a minimum price even if beer was available in the corner stores, so I think he's wrong on that account.

I remember lamenting the poor student lifestyle, so I'm not going to be a grumpy old man and criticize him for doing the same thing. I don't remember 'pre-gaming' when I was in University in the early 90's, but it probably happened. Anyway, he's a first year student so I'll cut him some slack.

[jaymack]

He’s just a kid writing for a University paper, guys. Lighten up and give him a break. Better yet, perhaps you more sophisticated writers and knowledgeable beer folk could write the kid an email and actually help teach him a few things.

[toweringpine]

He’s just a kid writing for a University paper, guys. Lighten up and give him a break. Better yet, perhaps you more sophisticated writers and knowledgeable beer folk could write the kid an email and actually help teach him a few things.

Darn right.

He is saying the same things that everyone else on this board bitches about yet everyone picks on him for poor writing style.

[mjohnston]

And don't forget homebrewing. For a college student, home brewing is definitely a great idea.

I hope we don't see this article getting too much circulation - it's not a very responsible argument for any policy changes. In fact, the response of policy makers is likely to be "yay, it's working!".

[Derek]

And don't forget homebrewing. For a college student, home brewing is definitely a great idea.

I hope we don't see this article getting too much circulation - it's not a very responsible argument for any policy changes. In fact, the response of policy makers is likely to be "yay, it's working!".

Exactly what I was thinking.

Also, brew-on-premise places are really great for students, who may not have the space or time to do it all themselves. We use to get primed with a bottle of wine, all the time.

BTW, I don't think many kids take stereo's to school anymore... they've got that stuff on computers now.

[Beer Snob]

Edit!