The Ontario government has quietly revived its efforts to allow the sale of beer in the province’s corner stores, launching a closed-door consultation process as a fall deadline looms for a decision on the future role of the brewing industry’s Beer Store chain.

Within months, Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives must declare whether they intend to scrap or renegotiate the province’s “master framework agreement” with the foreign multinationals that control the Beer Store. The 10-year deal, which was signed by the previous Liberal government and is set to expire in 2025, guarantees the chain’s long-standing monopoly on the sale of 12-packs and 24-packs and forbids the sale of beer in corner stores.

In the spring, Ontario’s Ministry of Finance, which oversees the province’s alcohol retailing regime, launched consultations with the beer and convenience store industries and other groups – but required all participants to sign non-disclosure agreements, keeping the talks secret.

Source: The Globe and Mail