Protest against the LCBO -- Liquor Control Board of Ontario

[Boges]

On 31 October, 2016 at 2:25 AM, ?Impact said:

Just to clarify, while you can buy beer and wine at grocery stores in Quebec they also have regulated hours. In general stores are open longer hours in Ontario than Quebec. There are a few grocery stores in Quebec with extended hours, but I have been in them and the beer section has been locked up. I'm not sure if the same restriction applies to wine. As far as I know the local dépanneur does not lock off the beer coolers, although many of them are closed by 10 or 11pm. The wine selection at any of the dépanneurs I have been in sucks.

But still. Any convenience store can sell beer or wine. 

Here in Ontario, only large grocery stores that can pay the fees the Liberals require can get the privilege. It's a cash grab. 

[eyeball]

Doesn't the fact its just substance users and sinners that they're grabbing money from make it okay?  Don't get me wrong, I get it that governments and politicians are FUBAR when it comes to substance use and morality but given the mix of signals they get from the public why should we really expect anything but a mixed up mess?

[?Impact]

5 hours ago, Boges said:

It's a cash grab. 

 

I see, you would rather fill someones pockets than build a school. I don't see any price advantage in Quebec, in fact for beer it seems higher to me. Wine is much harder to compare, but there certainly does not appear to be cheaper wine in Quebec. Perhaps you should do a study on the prices and tell me if you see an advantage. My general impression is the normal prices in Quebec are higher, but there are far more sales where you can get a bargain. If you like shopping for sales then Quebec has an advantage. Of course that runs counter to the store hours issue.

[Boges]

16 minutes ago, ?Impact said:

 

I see, you would rather fill someones pockets than build a school. I don't see any price advantage in Quebec, in fact for beer it seems higher to me. Wine is much harder to compare, but there certainly does not appear to be cheaper wine in Quebec. Perhaps you should do a study on the prices and tell me if you see an advantage. My general impression is the normal prices in Quebec are higher, but there are far more sales where you can get a bargain. If you like shopping for sales then Quebec has an advantage. Of course that runs counter to the store hours issue.

So tax money generated from the Excise Tax and the HST above and beyond that aren't good enough? You need to ad another level of taxation, so only large corporations can afford to sell beer and wine and not small businesses?

The times I've been to Montreal, I've found the beer selection to be just fine. But the convenience is the key selling factor, not the selection. If you're a beer snob, then the SAQ is available for you. Now I do find that the LCBO is cheaper than the SAQ regarding Spirits, but that's not up for debate here. 

I've never bought wine in Quebec either, so I wouldn't know. In Ontario, they are going to put a minimum price on bottles sold at select grocery stores that is much higher than what you "can" get at the LCBO. So there's a competitive advantage there. At least they no longer require that only Ontario wine can be sold outside of Lickbo's. 

The store hour issue is about convenience. Treat adult like adults. Corner stores already have to ID people buying tobacco (24/7), AND they face real consequences if they sell to minors. No LCBO is ever going to get closed because they sell to minors, Heck the Union will probably ensure a staff member who sells to a minor doesn't even get punished. 

Edited November 1, 2016 by Boges

[Boges]

The Beer Store sucks 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/as-a-sales-venue-the-beer-store-has-gone-flat/article34069659/comments/

[The_Squid]

4 hours ago, Boges said:

The Beer Store sucks 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/as-a-sales-venue-the-beer-store-has-gone-flat/article34069659/comments/

It was a very bad idea to give huge companies a monopoly and a bad idea to continue it today.    BC has a pretty good system of private and public liquor stores.  

 

[Boges]

God these people suck 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/lcbo-workers-vote-overwhelmingly-in-favour-of-a-strike-1.4085840

Quote

 

Liquor Control Board of Ontario staff have voted 93 per cent in favour of a strike as their union continues to bargain for a new collective agreement.

Voting by members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union was held Monday and Tuesday. 

Denise Davis, the head of the OPSEU bargaining team, says they will now return to negotiations with a strong mandate from the workers.

The vote was called by the union in late March after what they described as management's "complete lack of respect for workers."

The union has long railed against the government's move to sell beer, wine and cider in grocery stores, calling it "creeping privatization."

OPSEU president Warren (Smokey) Thomas says he hopes the strike vote will "wake up this management team to the reality of the situation."

 

There should be more privatization. I actually hope they do strike and the province expands privatization. 

[overthere]

Alberta privatized long ago, and it has been an unqualified success.

\

Well, for everybody except former  Alberta Union of Public Employee members.

[dialamah]

3 hours ago, overthere said:

Alberta privatized long ago, and it has been an unqualified success.

\

Well, for everybody except former  Alberta Union of Public Employee members.

How has it been an unqualified success exactly?

[eyeball]

43 minutes ago, dialamah said:

How has it been an unqualified success exactly?

It pretty much made organized labour and striking redundant.

Unions are barely a couple three steps above a terrorist group or a criminal gang but given how far down the same pole governments and politicians are too you'd think the public would have a little more sympathy towards public employees that have to toe that particular line.  The demolition of a labour oriented left wing is just about as complete as it is total.

And yet, fear and loathing of leftists and leftism abounds like it never has before.  Sure weird times we live in.

Edited April 29, 2017 by eyeball

[overthere]

On 4/28/2017 at 7:57 PM, dialamah said:

How has it been an unqualified success exactly?

The ALCB in 1993 offered about 2200 products to the public at about 205 government run liquor stores,  Today, there are about 2000 private liquor stores offering about 20,000 products.  Big win for consumers.

 

By closing those government stores, the govt also dramatically reduced costs and risk to taxpayers.  No more hefty wage, pension and benefit liabilities, and no capital costs from retailing booze.  And of course, instead of employing overpaid govt clerks to sell this commodity, now the private sector(with ten times as many outlets) also employs more Albertans in retail liquor stores than before.

Quote

It pretty much made organized labour and striking redundant.

Unions are barely a couple three steps above a terrorist group or a criminal gang but given how far down the same pole governments and politicians are too you'd think the public would have a little more sympathy towards public employees that have to toe that particular line.  The demolition of a labour oriented left wing is just about as complete as it is total.

And yet, fear and loathing of leftists and leftism abounds like it never has before.  Sure weird times we live in.

 I guess this poster did not notice that Alberta has the only NDP govt in Canada.  So much for "demolition of a labour oriented left wing is just about as complete as it is total."

 

Nope, the AB govt of 1993 made a sound, well considered business decision.  They realized that there was no reason at all to pay cashiers and shelf stockers and warehouse workers wages and benefits that far exceeded anything dreamt of in the private sector for the exact same unskilled jobs.  Unlike progressives like Eyeball, they acknowledged that there is not any reason at all for the govt to be involved in retailing booze. No govt has an obligation to grotesquely overpay their staff, which I know is a totally foreign notion for 'progressives'.  Aside from the waste of money for taxpayers, they cleverly  managed to retain much of the tax revenue from control over wholesale - which has pretty much none fo the risk and cost inherent in retail operations.

 

Like I said, it is pretty much an unqualified success unless you work for the Alberta Union of Public Employees. 

[Boges]

The most cynical move ever from the LCBO. They have their Union threaten to strike, do a huge public campaign saying how awful the LCBO is. 

http://liqileaks.ca

The LCBO extends hours so people can "stock up". Even the LCBO union leader says that this is just a ploy to bolster sales. They extend hours on the weekend. 

Annnnnnd No Strike! 

Wouldn't it be cool for other private companies have a monopoly of a sought after product and threaten to have their workers strike so they can boost sales. 

This entire organization, from the Union to Management is Awful. 

Edited June 26, 2017 by Boges

[capricorn]

2 hours ago, Boges said:

The LCBO extends hours so people can "stock up". Even the LCBO union leader says that this is just a ploy to bolster sales. They extend hours on the weekend. 

Annnnnnd No Strike! 

 

I live 3 blocks from a LCBO outlet. This afternoon, I drove by and the parking lot had a few vehicles where it is usually almost all full, especially before a holiday. So I have to conclude that customers did in fact stock up early in case of a strike, therefore had no reason to return for additional purchases. I have to conclude that the averted strike did not necessarily result in a boost in sales, at least not in my local LCBO store.