SooToday received the following Letter to the Editor from reader Jeff Broadbent in regards to the Doug Ford government's handling of the ongoing LCBO strike:
Premier Ford and his government’s mismanagement of Ontario is appalling and doing no service to the people of this community or the province. Their focus on increasing availability of alcohol and destroying the LCBO while neglecting the urgent crisis in healthcare and addiction is alarming. Instead of fixing the healthcare system, Ford and his government are intent on ruining the LCBO. Since 1927, the LCBO has been a world leader in controlling the distribution of alcohol and funding services for Ontarians.
In 2022-2023, the LCBO generated roughly $2.5 billion in revenue for the province, much of which is spent on healthcare and education. Transferring the distribution of alcohol from the LCBO to corner stores will gut this significant source of funding for healthcare, only exacerbating provincial deficits and debt.
Furthermore, it will do nothing to benefit the consumers of alcohol. Measured in dollars, the LCBO is the largest single purchaser of alcohol in the world giving it unparalleled purchasing power that benefits consumers and generates profits for the people of Ontario to be used on necessary infrastructure such as healthcare. With its buying power, the LCBO brings in unique products from around the world; corner stores simply will not have the buying power to do the same. Product diversity will decline, and prices will increase.
Moreover, the LCBO promotes Ontario craft producers of spirits, wines, cider and beer. Again, corner stores would simply not be able to carry on this important promotion, which will damage Ontario producers and their employees. So many producers, particularly remote producers such as Rheault Distillery of Hearst, are dependent on LCBO for their existence.
To be sure, this letter is not in promotion of alcohol consumption. Alcohol is a Group 1 carcinogen, and is directly responsible for approaching 4,000 Canadian deaths annually, indirectly undoubtedly many thousands more. But people will consume alcohol, and controlling it is the only meaningful way to limit harm. The Liquor Control Board of Ontario, true to its name, is literally tasked with controlling alcohol’s distribution.
However, Mr. Ford, rosy-cheeked and beer in hand, cheerfully chooses to ignore the LCBO’s mandate. As a monopoly, it’s under no pressure to compete, and its professional employees won’t sell to minors, or intoxicated people who then might jump in their vehicles and kill innocent citizens or themselves. Without the monopoly power of the LCBO, corner stores will be under pressure to maximize profits. We know how willing corner stores have been to turn a blind eye to the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products to children; they’ll be no better with alcohol. Alcohol is a dangerous drug that needs control, not easy accessibility. Addiction is an epidemic destructive to lives, the social fabric and economy but cheerful Doug and his government deliberately ignores this.
While Mr. Ford purports to care for working people, this incompetent mission will only further harm working people, damage the tax base of the province, and hurt the economy of the province and its ability to fund essentials such as healthcare. The LCBO employs 11,000 people, with wages ranging from $49,000.00 to $106,000.00, plus benefits. Corner stores pay minimum wage and no benefits. Minimum wage is already well below the poverty line in every community in this province. Transferring 11,000 people from a living wage and benefits to minimum wage with no benefits will only further damage the economy of Ontario and harm all the people of Ontario, not just those 11,000 LCBO employees. This means 11,000 fewer people who pay tax but 11,000 more people with less money to spend in the Ontario economy. Moreover, moving 11,000 people from a living wage to the ranks of the working poor will increase demands on social services.
This is economic insanity.
The people of Ontario don’t need greater accessibility to alcohol, but we are desperately in need of access to healthcare. We need doctors, not booze. The LCBO strikers are striking not just for their own interests but for the interests of all of us. We should join them on the picket lines demanding Mr. Ford focus on what the people of Ontario really need, effective management building up key public institutions such as healthcare and education, not tearing down prospering institutions that fund what we really need.
Jeff Broadbent,
Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
