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Introducing Light Mode! If you would like a Bar Towel social experience that isn't the traditional blue, you can now select Light Mode. Go to the User Control Panel and then Board Preferences, and select "Day Drinking" (Light Mode) from the My Board Style drop-down menu. You can always switch back to "Night Drinking" (Dark Mode). Enjoy!
Straight Up: The Issue of Alcohol in Ontario
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midlife crisis
- Beer Superstar
- Posts: 2037
- Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 7:00 pm
- Location: Toronto
^ the peculiarity of the strenuous, in-you-face rule-making (I like the examples and so forth they show here) is in the way it really resembles State propaganda, instead of rational thinking that respects anyone's intelligence.
Everything in the post-prohibition liquor control act, it begs the question in that it assumes its own necessity to explain its own necessity. In other words, if you ask why you should follow Ontario liquor rules, instead of being answered with a reason you are mainly told that to not follow the rules is bad because if you don't you'll be punished.
So there's either fear of prosecution or hysterical nanny-stateism 'saving us from ourselves' - that's pretty much the basis of all these funny little rules which they tell us is a liquor control system. They're just controlling the business for money's sake, I don't think they're controlling the consumption any more than would a normal private retail system.
Everything in the post-prohibition liquor control act, it begs the question in that it assumes its own necessity to explain its own necessity. In other words, if you ask why you should follow Ontario liquor rules, instead of being answered with a reason you are mainly told that to not follow the rules is bad because if you don't you'll be punished.
So there's either fear of prosecution or hysterical nanny-stateism 'saving us from ourselves' - that's pretty much the basis of all these funny little rules which they tell us is a liquor control system. They're just controlling the business for money's sake, I don't think they're controlling the consumption any more than would a normal private retail system.
In Beerum Veritas
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midlife crisis
- Beer Superstar
- Posts: 2037
- Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 7:00 pm
- Location: Toronto
Well, of course not. In fact (as is so well illustrated) their entire ethos has changed into promoting and expanding consumption through slick marketing and, of all things, a loyalty program! Like, as if there is anywhere else to go if I want a bottle of bourbon. Anyway, it isn't a bad watch if you have an hour to kill. Preaching to the converted a bit on a forum like this I guess. I was shocked by how little of the price of a bottle of "spirits" goes to the actual producer, though.
The HUGE issue the public should be outraged at is: if the LCBO insist on doing everything for Ontario, how can they also reserve the right to be so difficult about products?
They can't have it both ways!
The LC should NOT preclude Ontario producers of beer and wine on the basis 'we're too big to handle all these products in our system.' Tough titty - they want the WHOLE province so... it should be their problem to figure out how to serve an unnaturally large, diverse market by working with good Ontario producers and providing good regional support. OR - they should allow competition from smaller-level retail outside their system, a situation that can easily support thriving wine, spirits and beer producers.
They are kind of being dicks. They just want to streamline their product selection because it's easier for them to blandly serve all stores this way. As the program mentions, the LCBO 'does a good job, but they do it expensively.' This means they are lazy in their approach because they can coast on a still-impressive captive revenue stream they falsely take proud credit for, despite their shortcomings. Truth is they could be at least as efficient with MORE product selection (including good regional producers and small producers).
I would think all improvements of the past ten or so years are actually due to this natural pressure of our 'dynamic market' so long neglected, not the LC's sense of innovation. They've made many LCBO stores look less Soviet-era with redesigns, and some product availability has actually created demand categories for products like real IPA & all great craft beer generally. But be assured this behemoth is only changing as much and as quickly as it has to, and is prepared to dig in its heels to keep the 'patchwork of (unsatisfactory post-prohibition regulations badly in need of revision)' going till the bitter end. It's a ruse of the same old tricks, I believe and also poor reflection of our province's inner workings.
They can't have it both ways!
The LC should NOT preclude Ontario producers of beer and wine on the basis 'we're too big to handle all these products in our system.' Tough titty - they want the WHOLE province so... it should be their problem to figure out how to serve an unnaturally large, diverse market by working with good Ontario producers and providing good regional support. OR - they should allow competition from smaller-level retail outside their system, a situation that can easily support thriving wine, spirits and beer producers.
They are kind of being dicks. They just want to streamline their product selection because it's easier for them to blandly serve all stores this way. As the program mentions, the LCBO 'does a good job, but they do it expensively.' This means they are lazy in their approach because they can coast on a still-impressive captive revenue stream they falsely take proud credit for, despite their shortcomings. Truth is they could be at least as efficient with MORE product selection (including good regional producers and small producers).
I would think all improvements of the past ten or so years are actually due to this natural pressure of our 'dynamic market' so long neglected, not the LC's sense of innovation. They've made many LCBO stores look less Soviet-era with redesigns, and some product availability has actually created demand categories for products like real IPA & all great craft beer generally. But be assured this behemoth is only changing as much and as quickly as it has to, and is prepared to dig in its heels to keep the 'patchwork of (unsatisfactory post-prohibition regulations badly in need of revision)' going till the bitter end. It's a ruse of the same old tricks, I believe and also poor reflection of our province's inner workings.
In Beerum Veritas
Me too. And that they charge HST on all the added fees too!midlife crisis wrote:I was shocked by how little of the price of a bottle of "spirits" goes to the actual producer, though.
If you recall when they dropped the HST costs in 2010, bars got a better deal but the LCBO just raised the shelf prices WE pay - so everything went UP with less tax! They REFUSED to do any visible price drop, and put the burden on the retail consumer.
Social Responsibility is in most cases just Orwellian doublespeak for "We don't like giving the public a break (because it would set a precedent for a better standard in pricing and selection.)"
In Beerum Veritas