Nova Scotia, Ontario alcohol deal garnering mixed reviews

Who will benefit from the new alcohol deal between Nova Scotia and Ontario.

A deal by Nova Scotia and Ontario to allow consumers to buy craft beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages directly from producers in each province is garnering mixed reviews.

Some private liquor store owners like Colin MacDonald, owner of Westside Beer, Wine & Spirits in Halifax, say it’s a positive move.

“We’ve got a lot of great wine producers, beer producers and spirit producers in Nova Scotia. So, any opportunity to showcase that and expand that beyond Nova Scotia and show the great work that we’re doing here, I think is a great opportunity,” says MacDonald.

Tomas Morana, co-owner of Toronto-based liquor store Bottega Volo, says the deal is long overdue.

“I think this is a positive direction for the private consumer and also for local producers in Canada to be able to sell directly to customers anywhere in the country,” says Morana.

“I think that’s very important, especially for the local Canadian economy. And it’s part of the reason why, as a business owner, I’m struggling with selling more Canadian products, because of all the red tape and all the inter-provincial, policies, that don’t make it easy, for me to buy, wine from Vancouver or beer from Quebec.”

Jeff Green with Burnside Brewing Company was hoping the provincial government would address other issues affecting breweries in Nova Scotia.

“It’s a nice headline and it does nothing to actually help local craft brewers in any way, shape or form,” says Green.

He adds that improving the retail environment, and “overburdened” taxation on local breweries, would better help the health of the industry,

“Having Ontarians buy Nova Scotia craft beer is wonderful. While opening up to Ontario certainly doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t address the real underlying issues that are going to actually help move Nova Scotia craft beer forward.”

The agreement was made by both provinces as a promise to tear down interprovincial trade barriers, in hopes to combat the impact of tariffs on the Canadian economy.

Morana says it has the ability to do just that.

“My friend owns a brewery… in Halifax called Stilwell Brewing Company, and I would love to be able to buy their beer directly and sell it in my bar in Toronto, without the intervention of the LCBO making it too expensive for me to sell.”

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