RYE How to Kill Off Canadian Whisky DAVIN DE KERGOMMEAUX Jan H. Westcott, President and CEO of
the Association of Canadian Distillers, and I recently discussed potential unintended consequences, including the loss of some Ontario distilleries, if spirits are not sold along with wine and beer in Ontario grocery stores. In Jan’s words: “A new policy from the Ontario
provincial government may accidentally kill Canadian whisky icons such as Canadian Club, Wiser’s, Crown Royal, Gibson’s and Forty Creek. It will certainly reduce your choice as a consumer. “Spirits production isn’t the biggest
business in the province, but a study conducted a few years ago by Ontario’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food determined that Ontario spirits businesses contributed about $1.5 billion to Ontario’s economy and supported good, full-time jobs for some 6,000 Ontario families. “These spirits are made 100 per cent
from grains grown by Ontario farmers. In fact, according to the Grain Farmers of Ontario, Ontario’s distilled spirits producers are the fourth largest purchasers of corn in the province. They’re still made here by your fellow Ontarians in communities like Windsor, Collingwood, Amherstburg, Brampton and Grimsby. “Recently the media has been full of
stories about the government moving to allow the sale of beer and wine in 200 to 300 new grocery store locations across Ontario. Although not formally announced by the government, these new selling opportunities would be provided to wine and beer (including foreign produced beer and wine) but would exclude Ontario- produced spirits. “Making the purchase of some kinds
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of alcohol more convenient than others will change the types of alcohol people drink, and dramatically reduce the amount of spirits sold in Ontario. We know this because we have seen it happen in Quebec. “Before the Quebec government
decided to favour wine and beer producers by exclusively permitting them to be sold in grocery and corner stores, spirits were actually more popular with adult Quebec consumers. Indeed, prior to beer and wine being offered for sale in grocery stores, spirits held 40 per cent of the Quebec beverage alcohol market. “In the intervening period, during
which spirits have been sold only in liquor stores versus beer and wine selling in grocery stores, spirits sales declined dramatically and today hold only a scant 13 per cent of the Quebec beverage alcohol market. This has resulted in the closure of Quebec distilleries and the loss of hundreds of jobs. “Even more difficult to understand is
the notion that the Ontario government will provide foreign beer and wine better access to Ontario consumers than it affords products made here by its own citizens from grains grown by Ontario farmers. “This policy will also cost the
government money, forcing them to find it somewhere else. “Most consumers don’t know that the
vast majority of what they pay for their favourite bottle of spirits is tax, with most of that taken by the provincial government. And, spirits are taxed at far higher rates than are beer and wine, even when they contain exactly the same amount of alcohol. “For example, a bottle of Wiser’s
Deluxe Canadian whisky, made in Windsor
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Photos By DAVIN DE KERGOMMEAUX
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