Ontario city councillor criticizes provinces for pulling U.S. liquor from shelves

As provinces collectively pull U.S. alcohol products from their government-run shelves, at least one local politician has called the move a waste of taxpayer resources.

Source: Facebook

As provinces collectively pull U.S. alcohol products from their government-run shelves, at least one local politician has called the move a waste of taxpayer resources.

As part of a collective response from the provinces against U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs on Canadian imports, premiers across Canada pulled U.S. products from their respective monopolized liquor stores.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith estimated that the decision would cost American suppliers $3 billion in lost revenue.

However, one Ontario city councillor is pushing back against the Liquor Control Board of Ontario’s actions, calling the effort a waste of taxpayer resources.

“Do our Canadian politicians really think this stunt is sticking it to the Americans?’,” Pickering City Councilor Lisa Robinson said on X. “This is nothing but a waste of public money and a hollow political stunt.”

She argued that since taxpayers had already paid for the imported alcohol, removing it from store shelves did nothing to recoup the costs and only resulted in wasteful “government incompetence.”

At the direction of the government of Ontario, we have stopped purchasing all U.S. products, and U.S. products are no longer available for sale. Products will be stored until further notice,” a spokesperson for the LCBO told True North in an email.

The board says U.S. import sales account for $965 million in annual revenue, and they currently list more than 3,600 products from 35 U.S. states. The move means that private businesses such as convenience stores will no longer be able to purchase U.S. products as the LCBO holds a government monopoly on alcohol supply in the province.

“This is nothing more than a hollow gesture that accomplishes nothing except hurting Ontario consumers and their own bottom line,” Robinson said in another post. “This is what happens when a government-run monopoly prioritizes virtue-signaling over basic business sense.”

Robinson’s post was flagged with a community note that claims the LCBO buys liquor under a “consignment policy” and the retailer “has 60 days to return the product for a full refund.” However, no reference is made in the agreement of a 60-day full refund policy.

The consignment agreements allow U.S. suppliers to sell to Canadian vendors through the LCBO and its warehouses without the provincial liquor board purchasing the inventory upfront and suppliers are paid after the products are sold.

The policy notes that any products stored beyond 365 days are subject to returns. It also states that if the LCBO determines a product is “unfit for sale,” it may be returned to the “vendor of record.”

The LCBO told True North that the products on retail shelves have all been paid for and are not subject to consignment agreements and did not indicate that it intended to return the shelved products or that they were returnable.

“This is a pretty stupid economic move on the part of LCBO,” one X user, Dr. Matthew Bortolussi, said. “Not only has LCBO stopped revenue from these items, they’re paying extra twice to remove and then ultimately restock it.”

Others pointed to the situation as a prime example of why government monopolies hurt consumers.

“All this does is prove how anti-consumer a monopoly happens to be. You would never see this in the private sector – even if the store owner was a very proud Canadian,” one user “Forever Seabass,” said. “But in being the only game in town, the LCBO can afford to put inventory it bought with OUR money on ice.”

With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appearing to be in his final days in office, he acknowledged that the U.S.-Canada trade war would continue into the “foreseeable future.”