HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2015-04-22, Page 17Beer, not wine,
on Ontario
grocery store
shelves
Antonella Artuso
Postmedia Network
Your grocery list is about
to get a whole new look.
Soon, you'll be able to
add your favourite brew to
your shopping list and pick
up beer at hundreds of gro-
cery stores across the
province.
That's because Premier
Kathleen Wynne moved
Thursday to scrap the Beer
Store's near -monopoly on
suds sales in Ontario as part
of the largest shakeup of the
province's alcohol laws since
the Prohibition era ended in
the 1920s.
The Wynne government is
loosening the rules at the
same time as it served notice
it will sell off a big chunk of
Ontario's power grid, raking
in the billions it desperately
needs to whip the province's
deficit -ridden books into
shape.
But while the move will
expand beer sales to as many
as 450 mid-size to -large gro-
cery stores, the details are
thornier, including:
• An additional 50 -cent tax
on each two-four of beer
• For the first two years,
the province will force beer
companies to eat the price
hike and not pass it along to
consumers
• To police the new sys-
tem, a new "beer ombuds-
man" position will be
created
• Those expecting corner -
store sales of beer and wine
are out of luck; the prov-
ince isn't budging on that
front.
One local craft brewer was
greeting the announcement
with guarded optimism.
Dave Reed, co-founder of
Forked River Brewing Co.,
says the No. 1 problem for a
small brewery like his is
distribution.
"Any expanded visiblity
and presence is good," Reed
said. "Distribution becomes
the roadblock."
But he's concerned about
the many questions raised by
Wynne's plan: "Are they allo-
cating good shelf space (in
grocery stores) for craft beer?"
Reed says a beer like his
might be a better fit in chains
such as Farm Boy, Remark
and Sunripe, depending on
the details of the plan.
CONTINUED > PAGE 18
• GODERICH 51Q 524 7811
OR MOVIE IIIIFORMATION,. •. ,
www.rncvvelir>Iks.ca tt3Yd ,t0`I-8O�M-2G5-343A
Seaforth Optimist Club
DUCK RACES
SAT MAY 9, 1 PM
Seaforth Lions Park
TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM:
Sally's Closet,
Blooms'n Rooms,
or any Optimist Club Member
$500
Per Duck
Wednesday, April 22, 2015 • Huron Expositor 17
Michael Peake/Postmedia Network
Premier Kathleen Wynne explains the changes from the Premier's Advisory Council on Government Assets on Thursday, April 16, 2015.
DUBLIN - MITCHELL - SEAFORTH
LIONS CLUB TV AUCTION
MINT`
)fQ
U
The Dublin - Mitchell - Seaforth Lions
Clubs would like to thank...
• The Businesses and individuals who donated
items or cash to the TVAuction
• The individuals who purchased items from
the TV Auction
• Mitchell Seaforth Cable TV for use of their
Community Channel
• Quadro Communications for providing the
telephone lines
YOU HELPED TO MAKE OUR TV AUCTION
A GREAT SUCCESS!
Tuesday, April 28.7:30 pm • Crystal Palace
Mitchell Legion Band
0040
OpAniv
Concert
Featuring our special guests:
*The Sills Family*
Great Music • Door Prizes • Admission by Donation
Ariel Wood's
93rd Birthday Celebration
Sunday, April 26, 2015
12:00-3:OOpm
Commercial Hotel
Common Room
84 Main Street South, Seaforth
NO GIFTS PLEASE
Food Bank Donations Are Welcome
Please Join Us For Cake and Ice Cream
416,*•