Malcolm Jolley talks to Jim Lisser about new Ontario liquor regulations…
Jim Lisser is the acting executive director of Drinks Ontario, the lobby group that represents producers of and agencies for alcoholic drinks. A big part of that mission is invariably discussing with the provincial government how its members interact with the AGCO, which regulates the sale of alcohol ‘on premise’ in places like restaurants and the LCBO, which holds a near monopoly on retail sales, as well as on importation and warehousing. Two big developments have come out of the provincial government since the COVID-19 crisis. First, the government allowed, temporally, restaurants to sell alcohol along with take-out food, which has effectively created ‘bottle shops’ and has created something of a lifeline for restaurateurs and the suppliers and agents that cater to them. Second, as of this week, the government has changed the way importing agencies interact with the warehouse function of the LCBO. For the first time, agents are being allowed to market and sell ‘mixed cases’ of wine and other drinks. Of course, this being Ontario, how they can do it is still closely regulated, so I asked Jim Lisser to explain the new rules in the Zoom video interview below.
Email versions of this post won’t display video. Please click here to see the video at GFR.
