TORONTO – Foreign military personnel assigned to temporary duties in Canada are allowed a steep discount on alcoholic beverages purchased from the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO).
A report published in the Toronto Star reveals foreign officers on official duty pay 49 per cent off the retail price of liquor and beer.
Documents obtained by an Ottawa-based researcher through provincial freedom-of-information legislation and provided to the Star shows foreign military personnel saved close to $850,000 on booze over a six-year period beginning in 2007-08.
Similarly, the discount is also offered to the federal government, foreign diplomats, embassies and consulates.
READ MORE: LCBO further discounts booze prices for federal, embassy employees
The LCBO told the newspaper in an email that the discount is an obligation established in the federal government’s Administration Act.
However, application of the price cut is varied across the country. British Columbia has a discount policy in place but Quebec does not.
Under the federal regulation “visiting forces personnel” means any member of visiting forces who is the holder of an authorized identification card issued by the Minister of National Defence and who is present in Canada on official duty.
It does not include members on duty at a diplomatic mission.
With a file from The Canadian Press
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