TORONTO – Ontario‘s chamber of commerce says the province should expand online alcohol sales, cut taxes for some wine producers and bolster efforts to curb social harms as it liberalizes booze laws.
The chamber makes the recommendations in a report today about the future of beer, wine, cider, and spirits sales – called Refreshing the Sale of Beverage Alcohol in Ontario.
The report says the province has a “patchwork” of policies and regulations it should modernize as it expands alcohol sales to new retail stores.
The chamber says beverage alcohol producers should be permitted to sell their products on e-commerce marketplaces using third parties to process payments, which is currently not permitted.
It also says taxes should be cut on Ontario wines and taxes for craft cider producers should be aligned with those who make craft beer.
The report comes on the same day as a study published that suggests alcohol-related health problems are posing a growing burden on Ontario emergency rooms.