The Minister Delegate for the Economy and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Samuel Poulin, is opening the door to the sale of ready-to-drink spirit-based beverages in grocery stores.
This is one of the amendments presented on Tuesday by Poulin in his Bill 11 concerning regulatory streamlining.
The objective of the amendment is to allow these spirit-based products access to the grocery market, just like malt-based beverages, wine, and cider.
“We expect to generate millions of dollars in economic benefits for Quebec SMEs,” the CAQ minister told reporters in the halls of the National Assembly.
His proposal would end the Société des alcools du Québec’s (SAQ) monopoly in this sector. Grocers would, however, be required to purchase ready-to-drink beverages made with distilled alcohol through the Crown corporation, Poulin clarified.
The Union québécoise des microdistilleries (UQMD) welcomed the Legault government’s announcement.
According to the group, the decision “helps modernize an outdated regulatory framework and correct a long-standing inconsistency between the different categories of alcoholic beverages offered to Quebec consumers.”
“This opening responds to a market reality where ready-to-drink beverages are experiencing sustained growth and represent a strategic segment for our businesses,” commented UQMD President Nicolas Bériault in a press release.
The Retail Council of Canada (RCC) also welcomed this move by the Legault government. Its Quebec president, Michel Rochette, also emphasized that “expanding the range of ready-to-drink products (…) would thus correct the existing regulatory inconsistency.”
Ready-to-drink malt-based beverages and those made with spirits can have comparable alcohol content in the final product, he argues.
Poulin believes that the prices displayed for these beverages on supermarket shelves should be the same as in SAQ stores.
The CCCD is calling on the government to implement a framework “that ensures genuine competition and fair prices for consumers.”
“In this regard, the wholesale structure and markup mechanisms must avoid a layering of margins that would unnecessarily inflate prices,” he recommends.
For its part, UQMD demands that the implementation of this potential authorization support Quebec SMEs. “Market access terms, commercial conditions, and shelf space must be designed in such a way as not to simply benefit large multinationals with substantial promotional budgets and considerable bargaining power,” the union requests.
While per capita beer and wine consumption declined in Canada from 2018 to 2023, “consumption of ready-to-drink beverages increased significantly,” states the CCCD, citing data published by the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
The same data also shows that the volumes sold at the SAQ in the category including ready-to-drink beverages “more than doubled” over the same period, adds the CCCD.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
