I have a busy morning ahead, so just a brief post for now. That serial recycler of tired policy, young Tim Hudak, continues to maintain his naive faith in the virtues of the private sector as a panacea for all that ails us, yesterday calling for the end of the LCBO's monopoly on alcohol sales.
Trumpeting the virtues of privatization, along with the possible sale in whole or in part of the monopoly that injects about $1.6 billion per annum into provincial coffers, the never-ready-for-prime-time-politics leader of the Progressive Conservatives might be advised to supplement his populist rhetoric with a little research. As published in today's Star, Canadian jurisdictions that have privatized sales have seen an increase in prices and a reduction in selection.
Perhaps none of that, however, will matter to those who support the errant but evangelical vision of young Tim.
No one could ever claim that Tim was strong on research, Lorne.
ReplyDeleteThat would seem to be only one of his many deficiencies, Owen.
DeleteBeing in Ontario, at times I've travelled to Alberta and BC where the private stores are abundant. Nowhere did I see less expensive prices nor the wide selection that you see in an LCBO store.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, for free market Alberta, I thought the prices were unusually high. So, what's the big deal about privatizing?
I suspect that young Tim has never let empirical data get in the way of a good ideology, Anon.
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