To All the Booze Who’ve Loved Beer Store

Who doesn’t love an ice-cold beer from a bar, a pub, a liquor store… a gas station? There could soon be up to 8,500 new places to buy low-alcohol drinks in Ontario, thanks to a new plan to speed up an agreement between the province and Beer Store. The cost? At least $225 million of taxpayer money. Is this accelerated effort to “modernize” the alcohol market simply a play for political points ahead of a possible early election call? This month, Allison and Jonathan crack a couple of cold ones and pore over the booze clues. Hosts: Jonathan Goldsbie, Allison Smith Credits: Sam Konnert (Producer), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief), Max Collins (Production Manager), Nathan Burley (Music) Background reading: Doug Ford's change to booze sales could cost far more than $225M - CBC https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-beer-wine-corner-stores-cost-taxpayers-1.7215839 Under the influence: Doug Ford and the strange history of Ontario’s liquor laws - The Globe and Mail https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-under-the-influence-doug-ford-and-the-strange-history-of-ontarios/#:~:text=From%20before%20the%20election%2C%20through,municipalities%20to%20legalize%20drinking%20in Ontario has announced big changes to alcohol sales. Here’s how it’ll work - Global https://globalnews.ca/news/10170080/ontario-alcohol-sales-changes/ Sponsor: Douglas https://douglas.ca/Canadaland If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. Socials: Jonathan Goldsbie on Bluesky: @goldsbie.bsky.social Allison Smith on Twitter: @queensparktoday