Get ready for yet another increase in alcohol taxes

Get ready for yet another increase in alcohol taxesTaxes alone account for around 50% of the price of beer, 65% of the price of wine, and 75% of the price of spirits Everything is more expensive these days at the grocery store. We’ve also seen increases at the liquor store, or wherever you purchase your favourite alcoholic beverages. Well, these products are about…

We only follow the science when it suits us

We only follow the science when it suits usThe science behind COVID vaccines? Sacrosanct. The science behind the new alcohol consumption guidelines? Not so much I assume you are aware of the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) having issued revised alcohol consumption guidelines. The new guidelines, released after a two-year research project funded by Health Canada, are shocking, which the…

New alcohol guidelines hard to swallow

New alcohol guidelines hard to swallowMany Canadians will view the new drinking recommendations with great skepticism Looks like we all need to drink less alcohol. Last fall, the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA), a national organization that provides information and advice on substance use and addiction, shared recommendations that we should all drink no more than one…

Canadian brewers having a hard time staying afloat

And thanks to the federal government beer could get even more expensive in 2023

Canadian brewers having a hard time staying afloatWith recent reports that people are out enjoying the weather, we could assume that everything is back to normal after the pandemic. But that’s not entirely true, especially for the beer industry. Total beer sales have dropped 7.3 per cent from last year, according to Beer Canada. Total beer sales are up in Newfoundland and…

Government liquor tax hike bender needs to end

It’s time to tell the federal government they’re cut off

Government liquor tax hike bender needs to endIf you thought the taxes you paid on your favourite case of beer or bottle of wine or liquor were high today, the Trudeau government is now saying, “Hold my beer!” Imagine hearing two bartenders whispering about running up your bill. That would probably lead to an animated conversation if not incite some sort of…

ConnecTour Chronicles: Cheap rural living brings brewery dream to life

Nokomis Craft Ales is putting Nokomis, Sask. on the map – defying conventional thinking that only the big city yields success

ConnecTour Chronicles: Cheap rural living brings brewery dream to lifeTroy Media publisher Doug Firby and Travel editor Lisa Monforton are part of a group of Canadians who call themselves ConnecTour. Starting in May in British Columbia and ending in October in Newfoundland, they hope to make an 8,000-km bicycle journey across the country, discovering how the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped our lives and our…

Will Canada finally get interprovincial alcohol trade?

A private member’s bill in Ottawa is offering Canadians a renewed chance to ‘free the beer’

Will Canada finally get interprovincial alcohol trade?Interprovincial alcohol distribution in Canada has always been a nightmare. For our wineries, breweries and spirit makers, selling alcohol to Americans is easier than selling to consumers outside their own province. Many Canadian alcoholic products like wines, beers and spirits have won international prestigious awards but can’t be sold to most Canadians. It’s simply ridiculous.…

For beer fairness, end price controls and corporate welfare

If government believes it should discourage alcohol consumption, why does it subsidize the beer and wine industries?

With much fanfare, the Ontario government has brought back “Buck-a-Beer” by lowering the government-mandated price floor on a bottle or can of beer (with alcohol volume below 5.6 per cent) from $1.25 to $1. Ontarians who don’t drink or who consume only more expensive alcoholic beverages won’t be much affected by this policy. But for…