Ontario Beer Store Conflict of Interest - Boycott Bud Light Lime(tm)
Here we go again, one of the owners of the Ontario Beer Store is taking a small Ontarian brewery to court. Again. This time Budweiser(tm) is taking Brick Brewing to court over "Lime Beer". Last time around it was Brick again, being taken to court over stubby bottles under the pretense that they are "non-standard". Nevermind that Sleeman bottles are too.
What do you mean "one of the owners?". "The province owns the Beer Store, doesn't it?".
Nope. The beer store was traditionally owned by Molson and Labatt, about 50/50. Somehow Sleeman managed to wedge itself in for about a 10% stake, leaving about 45% for each of the other parties. OK, arguably that makes sense - the Ontario Beer Store owned by Ontarian breweries. What's wrong with that?
Well, the biggest thing that is wrong with it, is that none of those 3 breweries are Canadian-owned anymore. So the Ontario Beer Store monopoly is entirely owned by foreign mega-corporations. Labatt has been bought out by Belian Interbrew, since renamed to InterBev - the same company which bought Anheuser-Busch (Budweiser(tm)). Molson is now owned by Coors in the US, and Sleeman is owned by Sapporo of Japan.
This is a very clear and blatant conflict of interest situation for the owners of the Beer Store, since they have direct control over the distribution of their competitors' products. In situations like suing over bottle formats it is especially obscenely conflicting. In one room you have administrators employed by these companies ostensibly deciding to allow a small competing brewery to list its products on the Beer Store shelves, and in the next room (figuratively speaking) you have the lawyers of the very same companies, initiating lawsuits against those same competitors. Meanwhile, the large foreign-owned corporate brewers are free to sell their beer when and how they like because they own the stores and make the rules, while the only Ontarian breweries left in this province are forced to beg for admittance on the one hand, while on the other hand fight off the lawyers of the very same companies they have to go begging to! Sure, all breweries can sell their beer on premise. But why cannot a small brewery open it's own retail store off-site, just like the large foreign-owned breweries can?
Anyone should clearly be able to see what a conflict of interest this is. Yet the Ontarian government thinks all is just fine-and-dandy. Earlier this year - before this audacious lawsuit from Bud - I was part of a campaign to urge the Ontarian Government for reform of the Beer Store. Here is the form-letter response I got from the Premier, who very clearly did not read my email, nor understand what I was saying in it. In particular, they do not even want to answer the conflict-of-interest charges.
This is why I am calling on Ontarians in particular, but really people from all over, to boycott Bud Light Lime (tm). Since the Premier of Ontario is clearly not interested in reforming the sale of alcohol in this province, it is now time to take the matter - in the form of a boycott - to the mega-corporations who benefit from the situation. Surely, they can change this if they wish. Now is the time to make them wish.
---snip---
dmcguinty@premier.gov.on.ca
Thanks for your online message regarding the sale of beer in Ontario. I
appreciate the time you have taken to forward your views.
My colleagues and I feel strongly about preserving the social
responsibility standards in the sale of alcohol. Ontario consumers have
a variety of retail options available to them for the purchase of
alcoholic beverages - these include the LCBO, The Beer Store and direct
purchase from breweries. We believe that the current sales system serves
the public interest best because it safeguards social responsibility in
the sale of alcohol, provides convenience and competitive prices,
promotes Ontario products, and encourages responsible reuse and
recycling.
If you have a complaint about the services offered by The Beer Store,
you may wish to contact The Beer Store management by sending an e-mail
to customerservice@the beerstore.ca, by calling its Customer Services
Department toll-free at 1-888-948-2337 or by writing to The Beer Store,
280 Sovereign Road, London, Ontario, N6M 1B3.
Thanks again for contacting me. Your input on any issue of provincial
concern is always welcome.
Dalton McGuinty
Premier of Ontario
Comments
Boycott Bud Lime
Yes, the way our government allows the Beer Store to be run is a shame. I agree with everything you have stated accept that asking the readers of your web page to Boycott Bud Lime is a lot like asking an atheist to Boycot church on Sundays. I don't buy Bud Lime because I wouldn't be caught dead drinking it anyway. I'm a home brewer so make most of my own beer and when I buy commercial beer I usually get it from the Liquor Store or direct from a microbrewery.
I suggest that people Boycott the Beer Store. It's not that hard to do. You can get your beer at the Liquor store or even better, find the closest craft brewery and buy direct.
point taken, however
Boycotting the beer store is a nice idea, but then you hurt the little guys who are forced to sell their beer there. It is my favorite place to go for craft beer - the LCBO cannot touch it for selection of Ontario micros. And here in Ottawa we have a grand total of 1 brewery that one can walk into to buy beer.
another conflict of interest with Labatt
Oh, how could I have ever forgotten the recent case of Brava vs Red Baron, where one of the breweries who own the Beer Store are suing Brick yet again! This is of course a very clear and direct conflict of interest.
another conflict of interest example
One thing I forgot when writing the above was of course the Beau's Beer Bottle scandal. Beau's is a brewery located between Ottawa and Montreal, in Vankleek Hill. They have a unique bottle which is faily expensive for them to buy. As per recent Ontario legislation, the Beer Store must take returns on bottles for all alcoholic beverages sold in the province, whether it was sold at the Beer Store, LCBO, or elsewhere. But they do not have to return those bottles to the brewery! In the case of Beau's their bottles get returned to the Beer Store and then crushed, at considerable cost to Beau's! Even though the folks at Beau's have tried to work out an arrangement with The Beer Store.
Of course, since the Beer Store (TBS) is run by Beau's major competitors, it is in their (TBS) best interest to create financial hardship for Beau's. And this is easy to do by crushing the bottles.
Unbelievable that this is allowed to continue.
Great way to return Beau's bottles and help a good cause
Check out the Beau's web site for an innovative way to return their bottles and also help Operation Come Home:
http://www.beaus.ca/en-bottlereturn.html
and also
http://www.operationcomehome.ca/Bottleworks/index.html