What would you do with $225 million?
Alas, few of us common folk would actually have to answer such a question, unless we win a lottery. But, the query is germane considering that is how much money, our money, the Ontario government is giving to foreign-owned beer giants.
The province has announced that by the end of October, every convenience, grocery and big-box store, and gas station, in Ontario will be able to sell beer, cider, wine and ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages if they choose to do so.
Woo-hoo!
But don’t crack open the bubbly quite yet. Nothing is free. This summer’s phase-in of increased access to booze comes earlier than the January 2026 date previously announced by the government. The province has a deal with the Beer Store; the Early Implementation Agreement means that the breweries will get a whack of our tax dollars because the government is loosening alcohol rules before the agreement expires at the end of 2025.
“As part of its agreement with The Beer Store, the Ontario government is providing The Beer Store with up to $225 million to make the necessary investments over the next 19 months to support a stable transition to a more open and convenient marketplace, including funding to protect jobs across the province and to keep The Beer Store locations open for the continued availability of recycling and bottle return,” the province has announced.
The government, which is essentially emulating Quebec, estimates that eventually there will be 8,500 new Ontario stores selling low-alcohol products, “the largest expansion of consumer choice and convenience since the end of prohibition almost 100 years ago.”
“We are delivering on our commitment to give consumers in Ontario the choice and convenience every other Canadian enjoys and we’re doing so even sooner than we had originally promised,” said Premier Doug Ford. “In the coming weeks and months, people in Ontario, like many Canadians across the country, will have the option to responsibly and conveniently purchase a case of beer or a bottle of wine on their way up to the cottage or to a summer barbecue, all while having even more opportunity to support local Ontario breweries and wineries.”
That is all fine and dandy. But where is the fire?
The government could have saved $225 million if it had done nothing now and merely allowed the pact with Big Beer to expire at the end of next year.
But obviously, the powers that be are convinced that the masses will be pleased by the fast-tracking of the expanded marketplace.
There has been the expected blowback from critics who denounce such a horrible waste of public funds.
You may have heard of the Ontario Liberals. Their leader Bonnie Crombie claims that this is a real corker of a boondoggle.
“Ontario’s Liberals know that families are struggling, yet instead of helping, Doug Ford is giving away $1 billion to his friends and insiders,” Crombie has stated. “A billion dollars can transform communities, yet Doug Ford chose to recklessly spend it on getting booze in big-box stores a year early. Once again, he’s favouring wealthy insiders while ordinary Ontarians continue to struggle.”
Yes there are many other ways to spend our money. For example, fix more roads and streets and at the same time dramatically reduce auto repair costs and stress levels, and lighten motorists’ environmental footprints. Rattled drivers would make fewer trips to the dentist to tighten loose fillings. The money could also be used to subsidize groceries, hire more nurses, build more affordable housing, cut taxes.
As announced in December 2023, the government is providing an additional $10 million over five years to “support social responsibility and public health efforts to ensure alcohol continues to be sold and consumed safely in the expanded marketplace.”
That is a drop in the bucket compared to the widespread social and medical costs associated with booze. A coalition of health agencies has warned that alcohol-related problems cost Ontario more than $7 billion each year. A spike in alcohol-related emergency department visits is inevitable, critics caution.
But Doug Ford can do whatever he wants. The winners make the rules. The Ontario Conservative Party enjoys a huge majority and has lots of money, more than all of the opposition parties combined.
Faced with a tiny opposition at Queen’s Park, and sitting on a huge war chest, the Premier can toy with the idea of calling a snap election, before the scheduled election date of June 2026. And he can spend our money as he sees fit. For those who value the quaint notion of “fiscal responsibility,” that is indeed a sobering thought.
