The BCGEU has announced a tentative deal with the BC government which includes the cancellation of the \”Distribution of Liquor Project\”, the BC government\’s limited liquor privatization project which I have previously commented upon. Here is the government press release: Tentative Agreement with BCGEU.
The cancellation will likely be greeted with relief by some sectors of the industry which had concerns over a process which provided for minimal consultation and which appeared to exchange a public monopoly for a private one … without any guarantees that there would be benefits for consumers. On the down side, BC\’s arcane and outdated liquor distribution system will now likely remain firmly entrenched in the prohibition era, retaining its system of government control and price fixing. Regrettably, wine consumers are the ones who will continue to suffer as they have for decades … since successive BC politicians appear to have little interest in modernizing a system which is rooted in the 1930s and 1940s.