Ontario allows sales of Canadian, international wines in 300 grocery stores

mentalfloss

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Ontario allows sales of Canadian, international wines in 300 grocery stores

TORONTO -- Wine, beer and cider will be sold in up to 300 grocery stores in Ontario in the next decade, but that appears to largely be the extent to which the Liberal government is planning to modernize alcohol distribution and sales.

Premier Kathleen Wynne announced Thursday that the province will now allow wine to be sold in grocery stores, building on her government's expansion of beer sales last year. An initial block of 70 so-called "universal" licences for grocery stores to sell wine and beer will be allocated this summer, with an eye to having them operational in the fall.

There are currently 292 retail wine stores operating separately in grocery stores, and up to 150 of those could be converted to beer and wine outlets inside the stores with a shared checkout, still operated by the private wine companies.

The timeline will ultimately be up to government but recommendations from Ed Clark, the former TD Bank executive turned premier's adviser on government assets, suggest that by 2025 Ontario could see beer and wine sold in 300 grocery stores, with a further 150 selling beer only.

Thursday's announcement also contained a handful of changes for the spirits, cider and fruit wine industries, but beyond those new measures, the province seems content to end alcohol liberalization there.

Wynne called it a "delicate balancing act" between the needs of the industry, its desire to grow, trade obligations and ensuring competitive prices.

"All of those balls were in the air as the (Clark) council did its work, and as I say, I think we've reached a good balance of all of those things," she said.

"We very intentionally didn't blow the system up because it works very well, because it allows for very good and competitively low prices for consumers."

Ontario allows sales of Canadian and international wines in 300 grocery stores | CTV News
 

Curious Cdn

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Having been raised in Quebec, where they are generations ahead on this file, I just shake my head in wonderment at the vestigial leftovers of Methodist Temperance that still haunts Ontario.
 

B00Mer

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Curious Cdn

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Methodist Temperance?

Believe it or not, my immigrant paternal grandfather was both ... not in Ontario but out West. The roots of the Temperence movement are in Methodism, mostly. Also, there are. "wet" Presbyterians and there are "dry" Presbyterians, depending on how dour one is.

There are no "dry" Catholics, as far as I know ... oh, and no "wet" Muslims.
 

mentalfloss

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Ah, I had no idea you were referring to religion lol


I thought you might have meant that this was a moderated, half measure that didn't go far enough.
 

CDNBear

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Yawn, Liberals telling the people that the Liberals know what's best for them. And that is, Ontarians can't handle their liquor. Typical.
 

taxslave

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Believe it or not, my immigrant paternal grandfather was both ... not in Ontario but out West. The roots of the Temperence movement are in Methodism, mostly. Also, there are. "wet" Presbyterians and there are "dry" Presbyterians, depending on how dour one is.

There are no "dry" Catholics, as far as I know ... oh, and no "wet" Muslims.

I don't know about dry catholics but I know there are wet muslims because I have tossed back the odd beer with several of them.
 

Tecumsehsbones

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I don't know about dry catholics but I know there are wet muslims because I have tossed back the odd beer with several of them.
Yep, my friend Navid loves red wine. But whenever we go out to dinner, he dips his middle finger in the glass and flicks a drop of wine on the table. I asked him once what he was doing, and he said "the Prophet says 'Thou shalt not drink one drop of wine'". . .
 

DaSleeper

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Yep, my friend Navid loves red wine. But whenever we go out to dinner, he dips his middle finger in the glass and flicks a drop of wine on the table. I asked him once what he was doing, and he said "the Prophet says 'Thou shalt not drink one drop of wine'". . .
Not his left hand middle finger, I hope!
 

Curious Cdn

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Yep, my friend Navid loves red wine. But whenever we go out to dinner, he dips his middle finger in the glass and flicks a drop of wine on the table. I asked him once what he was doing, and he said "the Prophet says 'Thou shalt not drink one drop of wine'". . .

Reminds my of a Jewish guy that I used to sail with when I was a teenager who always had ham sandwiches. "Their okay as long as the pig was circumcised" he used to say.
 

DaSleeper

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When they bring it in the corner store employees will have to be 21.
A few years back, in River Valley Ontario, I was at the bluegrass festival there, and went to get some beer and the owner's young daughter was at the cash....
When I went to pay, she told me that I would have to wait a few minutes, that her dad who lived next door was on his way in, and she wasn't old enough to take the sale.
That would leave quite a few teenagers out of part time jobs.....

https://www.google.ca/maps/@46.5869...4!1s7O4-2gwyZkP2GfmWp3-8fw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
 

mentalfloss

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Jun 28, 2010
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Are you aware that you are unable to construct a different permutation of the same idea?