Should booze be available in corner stores all across Canada?

But it's a money making Monoply and if it goes competitive no doubt our bloddy TAXES will need to rise to make up the difference .So I say leave the money making LCBO alone.

dont do it, just like selling the 407 which was silly, keep whatever revenue streams we have going. Long term prosperity is always better then the short

yes it should, I am a n one drinker so no one can say that's why I think that, I come from Quebec but live in Ontario, if you know anything about the drinkers of Quebec you will note that the corner stores are not about to sell booze to under age people simply put , they do not want to lose their lic to sell it not to mention the fines so there you have it , come into the modern world and cheer up with a cold one

I lived in Alberta for while recently and was very surprised how liquor was avaliable there. You could purchase a 12 pack to take home from the drinking establishment after drinking there for the evening. Booze was avaliable in corner stores readily, it was very closely monitored by the owners of the establishments, as they could loose their licence to sell to minors. It was convenient because the stores were close at 2AM or before 7 days a week. I did see more drinking and driving, drunks were common than here in Ont also. Penalties were minimal for drinking, one case a driver while waiting for trial for drinking and driving plus criminal negligance killing 5 people had his company request his being able to continue to drive until he stood trial. He was convicted and jailed for a substantial time. If this was in Ontario I am sure he would have had a much more substantial jail sentence but that was the "Wild West" I am not sure whether I am in favor of the changes in Ont but there should be more competition out there and get away from the "Old Boys Club"

No one is going to loose; the varitey store will be made to pay the taxes; and the consumer buys it for the same price the LCBO sells it for! Never forget, the goverment NEVER looses. Even when they are found liable and have to pay joe public; they always appeal until the person gives up or dies. They will never ever loose.

Definitely not! It is already easily available as it is, at least the government is bringing in some revenue.

Absolutely this should be privatized. The government has no reason to be in a retail marketplace. A law abiding citizen should not have to deal with a government agency in the case of day to day life.

The LCBO can make any amount of profit it chooses to by charging whatever it wants to. Why? because it is a monopoly and there are no other businesses to compete with them and keep them honest. Besides, their operating costs are higher than if they were in competition. Have you any idea how overpaid those fatcats are, compared to what other companies pay their staff for comparable tasks?
Some people feel that only the LCBO can provide huge tax benefits for the Provincial Govt. so they continue to be shafted by them and are totally naive. Why can't other operators in the Liquor Selling Business provide the same revenue?

just stocking the shelves.

Yes it should be a free market to buy what we want when we want- besides the LCBO sells liquor in variety stores in small towns. Why can't the average joe sell it in thier store.

It is gov't b.s. and big as anything- they should get out of it completely and let free and fair competition rule-- cheap booze and beer!!!!

to the guy who said you could walk into convinence stores in alberta, thats not true they have seperate stores that you can buy beer and liquor and i have been working out here in alberta for over 11 years and i have never seen being able to buy beer or liquor from a bar i know you can get off sells in saskackawan not in alberta though and that is the way it is

YAH - sell the LCBO the same way we sold the electricity, and watched our rates skyrocket PLUS pay a ridiculous charge on paying for the sale, which after all these years we are still paying on our bills. What the hell is that? And this will be different? lol yah - right. From Lying politicians who will pad their pockets and screw the people immediately and forever in doing it. The thing makes money, employs people, and thus helps lower our taxes. Leave the darn thing alone !!! Sell what is costing us money, not what makes us money.

The LCBO is already open 6 days per week, so anyone who feels the utter necessity to be able to buy booze an extra day a week obviously has an alcohol problem. And for those feeling the humungous urge to buy booze at 2AM are probably already half-tanked or need to get someone drunk for a bit of play in the hay. If LCBO employees get paid to stock shelves or be cashiers... maybe that's a good thing... less people on the unemployment line. Many grocery stores and Walmarts already have wine available. Corner store Joe will have minimal stock and will not hire new employees unless he really needs to or unless they're family. If it ain't broke and especially if it's profitable, leave it alone.

Are you kidding me? Legalizing one of the biggest money makers of all time, you have to be insane. So you can buy your liquor later out here, I'm now in Alberta and I've lived in BC, so what? It's waaaay more expensive, especially in BC. You think the LCBO is a monopoly. Trust me it doesn't take long before private enterprise becomes the same. It starts out with a bunch of small guys who quickly get eaten up by the bigger guys which become chains et voila, a monopoly. And who profits? Not the citizen. At least in Ontario, the government (therefore, you its citizens) are the monopoly. In Alberta, the cheapest place to buy your booze is Costco, so if you want to have your money fall in the hands of an American company, go ahead. The LCBO is the biggest purchaser of alcohol in the WORLD, folks. Which means that bigger volume = cheaper and while products are taxed to the hilt, save for the odd great sale they're far better than out west. As for selection, eliminate the LCBO and what's that? Bye, bye Vintages and quality wines priced for the masses not the elite, same with imported beers. For those of you don't drink or who drink wine out of a box and the only beer you've ever had is the same one your Dad, Grandfather and the one before him drank, keep your opinion to yourselves. The LCBO is multiculturalism at its finest and a cash cow for its people. If you're running out of alcohol after the liquor store is closed, you've probably had enough to drink - for one night anyway. In my experience, whenever the need for a post-midnight liquor can you tell me who will drive - let me rephrase that - who is legally able to drive?

I woiuld like to point out to the author of this article that in Quebec, we can buy beer and a limited number of wines at corner 'depaneur' establishments, but cannot avail oneself of hard liquor, since such offerings are the exclusive domain of Societe des Alcools outlets, which offer little better choice than those of the LCBO. . If I were to favor privitization of liquor sales across this country, the one thing that must be done away with is the archaic system of distribution that exists in most provinces, whereas the province or territory is in complete charge of buying and wholesaling. including warehoising of inventory, resulting in huge markups that are hard to justify, even if they are enhancing cash-straped provincial coffers.

That was a great point about the bloated paychecks that LCBO workers are paid. It is rediculous, they dont do s^%*. If we are to leave the selling of booze in the hands of the gov., we must reform the system that is in place. We have to open our eyes to the governments blatent abuse of our money and trust.

For those of you who feel inclined to find a problem with the so-called outrageous pay cheques of the LCBO. They may in past have been inflated but I don't call $26 an hour in today's society outrageous. $50-60K folks, that's what that equals out to. Yes there are those who make more (mid to upper management) and there are many who make less as the LCBO has moved to "temps" and keeping many of its employees casual. The mention above about the government taxing booze privatized or not is spot on. So instead of the province earning a billion dollars a year, after paying its employees, you think it would be better to allow someone to be paid $12/hr and have the profit go in the hands of the store owners? If you think that this is the way to level the playing field is grossly mistaken, unless of course, you fancy yourself the "big" owner yourself - good luck with that because you don't think they give licences to anyone do you. Now lets talk about an old Boys club. Privatization is just another way to let the rich get richer.

Canada drinking culture is so weak. You need government to control.

Think about one thing.. The LCBO is the LARGEST purchaser of alcohol in the WORLD.
They have huge buying power there is no way individual stores would be able to get the same prices as the LCBO and therfore prices would go up.
Using Quebec as an example is not right as they only sell beer and certain wines in stores other than the SAQ and if you goto www.saq.com you will notice almost all products are more expensive.
And as for Alberta more selection yes but you might have to drive all over the province to find a particular product and as for cheaper that is false as well as yes they do have sales sometimes for the most part regular prices for products are higher.
Theres nothing that would replace the amount of money that The LCBO makes for the
Ontario Govt. / The people of Ontario.
Think about it!

As the previous poster put, the LCBO is the largest purchaser of alcohol in the world and also the most influential liquor buyer and vendor on the planet. And lets not forget that the corner stores in Quebec sell the "run of the mill boring tastes all the same beer".
The LCBO also has one of the widest selection of alcohol from any one vendor/purchaser on the planet as well.
So if you rely on the corner store for your alcohol, you can kiss this selection goodbye!

Mr "Anonymous" who probably works at the LCBO should take a visit to NY state and visit the massive Wine & Spirits stores, they carry more variety than any LCBO store i have been in, Oh yeah those god awful Aussie critter wines that the LCBO keeps pushing and charges you 12 bucks a bottle you can buy in NY state for 5 bucks a bottle!! and that's all it's worth! And You're so wrong about Quebec why do you think Quebec has so many micro brewers?