Maybe, just maybe Ford being a doodoo head will precipitate the well-deserved death of the LCBO, this monopolistic monstrosity that charges more because it can.
It’s almost as bad as the mobility and milk cartels and has no place in the 21st century.
It's so weird that Ontario even still has a liquor retail monopoly that is run by civil servants.
Why? Surely the private sector can perform this service much more efficiently and/or cheaper, therefore ultimately bringing in more net tax revenue.
Most of the rest of the world including provinces such as Alberta and Saskatchewan do not see this as so important of a business it can only be performed by the government.
Perhaps Ford would be more pro business if he trusted business to do what business does best and got out of its way? But then we wouldn't earn our well deserved reputation of being overly bureaucratic and risk adverse.
Conveniently ignored by Doug, and other's in government is their part in making these plants uncompetitive with the yanks.
It SHOUDN'T be cheaper to ship the heavy, liquid product to a plant in the US to be bottled, in particular a product made with 100% Canadian ingredients.
In the Financial Post there is an article about a critical minerals company (https://financialpost.com/commodities/canadas-hydrograph-move-to-texas?itm_source=commodities) leaving Vancouver to set up its head office in Texas, for a more "business friendly" environment. When will the animated lightbulb go on above Doug and Mark's head that business friendly is NOT an insult?
Ford's dumping the booze stunt was, intentionally or not a distraction from the real competitive issues that industry and business in general face in Canada. For all of Carney and Ford's words I don't see any provincial trade barriers tumbling, not any reduction in regulation or burdensome taxation. Lots of hot air, but no rising balloon.
I think the idea is to ship the actual liquor in bulk and then bottle and bag the whiskey closer to the markets. Shipping heavy and fragile glass bottles is very expensive.
I'm sure it is costly. It doesn't stop whiskey makers in Ireland or Scotland from bottling domestically and shipping the finished goods. Same goes for many Diageo products like canned Guinness sold here.
Crown Royal is the number one selling whiskey in the USA. Fireball, another Canadian product is the number 2. And Jameson's Irish is the number 3 whiskey sold in the USA with Jack Daniels coming in at number 4. So, it makes all the sense in the world for the plant to move to the USA.
I do miss Pinot Noir from Oregon and Washington. Nothing from other countries is quite as good for the price, in my opinion. If we had other choices for purchasing wine, I probably still wouldn't but American wines. Still, it should be up to me, not the government. The LCBO is a relic from another era, a time of temperance unions and the "demon alcohol". It needs to be dismantled.
As for Ford, well, he is a buffoon and always has been. If only the Liberals could put up a credible leader and party, we might have a properly functioning democracy in Ontario. I guess we need to wait a few more years for the McGuinty and Wynne governments to fade from memory. I'm worried, though. There are still those who will never vote NDP because of Bob Rae's government in the early 90s.
On a serious note about the trade thing... Any Canadian company doing business in both Canada and the US who hasn't figured out by now that Trump is euthanizing free trade and replacing it with managed trade... you need new advisors.
Whatever we end up calling what we end up with, it won't be real free trade because the Americans don't want that. They want a pre-determined outcome of what's made where and how much is traded and the rules will be changed to produce that outcome. That's managed trade.
In a managed trade world, a company can choose one side or the other side or you can try to keep both happy... but pretending you're just free traders to one country while playing footsie with the managed trade of the other? The one you're blowing "free trade" smoke at is going to kick you the balls sometimes. That'll happen more if it's Canada you're hosing because most of the time we find it too dangerous to kick Donald Trump in the balls... but a company that pisses off a Premier? He can kick you the balls pretty safely.
Maybe that's worth it on the balance sheet, but don't be surprised when it happens.
I liked the booze stunt Ford did... why not upgrade to Australian wine? Or European? Or even Canadian?
As for spirits, I tried splitting my middle aged major across all three, so I'm an expert in none, but I like the BC whisky from small distilleries and I just don't understand the preference for American bourbon over Scotch & Irish whisky. (Yes, I know they're different things.) BC does make some great local whisky. Matt, Jen, come do one of your live events in BC and you'll see what I mean.
Why buy things from people who hate you when there are BETTER options available anyway?
Jingo Ford took forever to pour out the Crown Royal because none of his hugely paid advisers and event planners thought to remove the flow restrictor that is a feature of most popular liquor brands. Too used to pouring in glasses I guess😆
Maybe, just maybe Ford being a doodoo head will precipitate the well-deserved death of the LCBO, this monopolistic monstrosity that charges more because it can.
It’s almost as bad as the mobility and milk cartels and has no place in the 21st century.
It's so weird that Ontario even still has a liquor retail monopoly that is run by civil servants.
Why? Surely the private sector can perform this service much more efficiently and/or cheaper, therefore ultimately bringing in more net tax revenue.
Most of the rest of the world including provinces such as Alberta and Saskatchewan do not see this as so important of a business it can only be performed by the government.
Perhaps Ford would be more pro business if he trusted business to do what business does best and got out of its way? But then we wouldn't earn our well deserved reputation of being overly bureaucratic and risk adverse.
Bu you see, the LCBO knows best what people want and they "curate" what they sell for your benefit.
Meanwhile, you can hop across the border and buy the same poison for a third of the price...
Conveniently ignored by Doug, and other's in government is their part in making these plants uncompetitive with the yanks.
It SHOUDN'T be cheaper to ship the heavy, liquid product to a plant in the US to be bottled, in particular a product made with 100% Canadian ingredients.
In the Financial Post there is an article about a critical minerals company (https://financialpost.com/commodities/canadas-hydrograph-move-to-texas?itm_source=commodities) leaving Vancouver to set up its head office in Texas, for a more "business friendly" environment. When will the animated lightbulb go on above Doug and Mark's head that business friendly is NOT an insult?
Ford's dumping the booze stunt was, intentionally or not a distraction from the real competitive issues that industry and business in general face in Canada. For all of Carney and Ford's words I don't see any provincial trade barriers tumbling, not any reduction in regulation or burdensome taxation. Lots of hot air, but no rising balloon.
I think the idea is to ship the actual liquor in bulk and then bottle and bag the whiskey closer to the markets. Shipping heavy and fragile glass bottles is very expensive.
I'm sure it is costly. It doesn't stop whiskey makers in Ireland or Scotland from bottling domestically and shipping the finished goods. Same goes for many Diageo products like canned Guinness sold here.
There is so much more to Canada than just listing the woes of Ontario or the GTO.
Which is why recent Line articles have focused on Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan, plus national and global issues.
Exactly. Just more from the complicit, the vengeful rhetoric of ‘who would thought…’ ignoring the wonders of a nation of nations.
Ford might well remember that Crown Royal is made in Gimli, Manitoba, Canada.
Crown Royal is also distilled in Manitoba. Mr. Ford, please keep an eye on the elimination of inter-provincial trade barriers.
Crown Royal is the number one selling whiskey in the USA. Fireball, another Canadian product is the number 2. And Jameson's Irish is the number 3 whiskey sold in the USA with Jack Daniels coming in at number 4. So, it makes all the sense in the world for the plant to move to the USA.
According to the linked article below that's not the case.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/etimes/trending/from-jack-daniels-to-jim-beam-top-selling-whiskeys-in-america-in-2025/articleshow/120722066.cms#:~:text=Jack%20Daniel's:%20Still%20the%20King%20of%20the%20Hill&text=Jack%20Daniel's%2C%20with%20its%20square,hipster%20and%20the%20MAGA%20uncle.
I do miss Pinot Noir from Oregon and Washington. Nothing from other countries is quite as good for the price, in my opinion. If we had other choices for purchasing wine, I probably still wouldn't but American wines. Still, it should be up to me, not the government. The LCBO is a relic from another era, a time of temperance unions and the "demon alcohol". It needs to be dismantled.
As for Ford, well, he is a buffoon and always has been. If only the Liberals could put up a credible leader and party, we might have a properly functioning democracy in Ontario. I guess we need to wait a few more years for the McGuinty and Wynne governments to fade from memory. I'm worried, though. There are still those who will never vote NDP because of Bob Rae's government in the early 90s.
On a serious note about the trade thing... Any Canadian company doing business in both Canada and the US who hasn't figured out by now that Trump is euthanizing free trade and replacing it with managed trade... you need new advisors.
Whatever we end up calling what we end up with, it won't be real free trade because the Americans don't want that. They want a pre-determined outcome of what's made where and how much is traded and the rules will be changed to produce that outcome. That's managed trade.
In a managed trade world, a company can choose one side or the other side or you can try to keep both happy... but pretending you're just free traders to one country while playing footsie with the managed trade of the other? The one you're blowing "free trade" smoke at is going to kick you the balls sometimes. That'll happen more if it's Canada you're hosing because most of the time we find it too dangerous to kick Donald Trump in the balls... but a company that pisses off a Premier? He can kick you the balls pretty safely.
Maybe that's worth it on the balance sheet, but don't be surprised when it happens.
I liked the booze stunt Ford did... why not upgrade to Australian wine? Or European? Or even Canadian?
As for spirits, I tried splitting my middle aged major across all three, so I'm an expert in none, but I like the BC whisky from small distilleries and I just don't understand the preference for American bourbon over Scotch & Irish whisky. (Yes, I know they're different things.) BC does make some great local whisky. Matt, Jen, come do one of your live events in BC and you'll see what I mean.
Why buy things from people who hate you when there are BETTER options available anyway?
Jingo Ford took forever to pour out the Crown Royal because none of his hugely paid advisers and event planners thought to remove the flow restrictor that is a feature of most popular liquor brands. Too used to pouring in glasses I guess😆
Repugnant headline. Does Mr Stinson consider this issue some kind of a joke?
Well, most of the country considers Mr. Ford to be a joke, so close enough?
Seriously though, if you're somehow offended by that headline, you really need to touch grass and reevaluate some things about your life and mindset.
Agree on Ford being a joke. A really bad joke
What is repugnant about it?
Because it's serious issue, frivolous reference to wine diminishes it
So humorous takes should be avoided because it's a serious issue?
You can't be serious...
Yes, it degrades it. Not sure 3,000 Stellantus workers in Brampton would enjoy the double entendre.
And also like Trump, Ford always chickens out.