PRESS RELEASE – For immediate release –

MARKHAM – After the Ontario Libertarian Party added its voice to the outrage that was felt across the province for restricting commerce in the name of government interference, the government decided to make a small change to the Liquor Licence Act that was keeping Beau’s Beer from engaging a charitable organization to hire at-risk youth and deliver products to consumers’ homes.  This activity was hitherto only allowed with products purchased from the government or the major breweries.   The government also announced that a broad review of the Act would take place over the next 15 months which would include consulting with liquor manufacturers, distributors, police and other stakeholders, so that the Act could be updated.

“It is a step in the right direction,” said Allen Small, leader of the Ontario Libertarian Party, “we hope that this is the start of a continuing trend where large and small companies can compete based on merit, and not on how popular they are with elected officials.  Every year that bad legislation is allowed to stay on the books without being repealed makes for another year where voters see the evidence of politicians playing favourites with large corporations.  It’s bad for democracy.”

As the news of the immediate changes was welcomed, the news of the consultation process received a more reserved reaction.  The exclusion of naming consumers in the consultation process suggests that more attention will be paid to entrenched corporate and government ideals, and the inclusion of police, who are not, and should not be involved in legal commercial transactions between vendors and consumers, hints at continuing the status quo.

“We are worried that the government wants to continue to sell alcohol, 84 years after prohibition ended (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prohibition_in_Canada). "It’s time to drop the pretense that the LCBO exists for anyone’s benefit, except the Ontario government’s addiction to alcohol profits, ” said Paolo Fabrizio, deputy leader of the Ontario Libertarian party. “It’s unbefitting for government to run advertising campaigns to promote drinking of alcohol via the LCBO when the LCBO’s only claim to legitimacy is to restrict people from buying it.”

As the Party of Choice, the Ontario Libertarian Party would completely remove the Ontario government from liquor sales, and open the market fully to competition.

Here is a link to our first PR on this subject: http://www.libertarian.on.ca/news/government-job-killer

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Allen Small,
Leader
Ontario Libertarian Party

www.libertarian.on.ca

PHONE - 416-283-7589 or Toll Free:

1-855-ONT-LIBErty (1-855-668-5423)

WRITE:
Ontario Libertarian Party
7-91 Rylander Blvd., Box 121
Scarborough, ON, M1B 5M5