A Hot Summer

While it is shaping up to be a summer of meteorological heat, there is another kind quickly building in Ontario. And, despite a summer sojourn at his new, palatial cottage, Doug Ford cannot escape it: the political fallout of the LCBO strike.

After For's release of his cottage video touting an interactive map where Ontarians can buy their booze despite the strike, people have reacted swiftly and decisively:

The announcement is stirring up angry reactions from many residents and city officials, who accused Ford of union busting and failing to address pressing socio-economic issues.

“While the Ford government wastes billions of tax dollars, schools need fixing, hospital wait times need attention, cities need support for transit, services & infrastructure, the science centre needs saving and people struggle to make ends meet. Yet, this guy’s priority is beer,” Councillor Josh Matlow wrote on X on Monday.

“You’re using public dollars to break a strike, undermine workers rights and to destroy an agency that generates $2.5 billion for healthcare and other services. But this app looks cute. Why didn’t you use this kind of tech to save lives from COVID19 or to find ERs,” one X user wrote.

“Can I get a map of where I can find emergency clinics that are open?,” another person said.

“All this government cares about is alcohol, not education, not healthcare, not housing…alcohol,” someone else wrote.

“They rolled out that interactive map pretty damn fast. I guess he can be efficient when it really matters,” another person commented.

Businesses for whom alcohol is a big source of revenue are not reacting well either.

The strike by the 9,000 workers is a disaster in the making for a bar and restaurant industry that’s still struggling to recover from the financial hit of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Restaurants Canada CEO Kelly Higginson.

“The contingency plans are not working, and they didn’t work right out of the gate. It’s chaos,” said Higginson.

The strike comes in the middle of a patio season that’s even more crucial than usual, Higginson added. On top of increased debt load from COVID, customers having less disposable income and cost increases, restaurant and bar owners also had to deal with the usual slowdown in spring and winter. 

“It’s a must season. We need a good summer,” said Higginson.

For bigger restaurants and bars which have the money and storage space to buy by the case, the LCBO’s wholesale website has been equally frustrating, Higginson said.

“They’re struggling to get alcohol. The LCBO said there were going to be 168 different (products) available for wholesale, but in fact at this point there are maybe 30,” said Higginson.

And the people who perhaps matter least (except at election time) to Ford are offering their views:

I find it hard to comprehend why stores other than LCBO outlets should be allowed to sell alcohol. People want health care and education, and the LCBO profits help fund those things as a revenue stream for the province. We whine about lack of health services but seem too stupid to realize that sales go to the store, not the province. Do large stores such as Loblaws and Metro really need the money from alcohol? 

Barbara Tallis, Toronto

The LCBO strike is another big blunder of Premier Doug Ford. For starters, why would Ontario want to compete with itself? Taking business away from a well-managed, secure, and efficient LCBO does not make sense. Putting beer, wine and mixed drinks in the hands of private store operators is very concerning. The many concerns of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) are justified. Allowing  alcohol to be sold in other markets will ruin a strong organization that has worked well for many years. Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke!

Mark Borkowski, Toronto

One of Premier Doug Ford’s poorly-thought-out decisions that may prove disastrous in the future is the weakening of the mandate of the LCBO by allowing beer, wine and mixed cocktails into corner stores. I think we can all agree that the contributions made by the LCBO toward our health care and education systems are invaluable. In fact, I believe that the LCBO is the goose that lays the golden eggs. So, what smart person that owns such a goose would wilfully try to weaken it? It is all too obvious that Premier Doug Ford does not know how to play chess and is incapable of properly foreseeing the next move. Who in their right mind would want to weaken that asset for little return? Someone intent on the short term goal of reelection at any cost. Wake up, premier.

David Ottenbrite, Cambridge

Then there is this stinging indictment that carries so much truth:

Why is alcohol retail more important than addressing homelessness? The priorities of this government are skewed. Revenue for health care and education are much more important. Premier Doug Ford does not have my vote.

Ted Lister, Hamilton

It is my understanding that Ford has called a press conference for this morning. I think he may find that empty rhetoric, stock phrases and anodyne commentary will not quell the angry beast he has unleashed.