BC On Tap - Every Month Can Be BC Craft Beer Month

October is upon us which means it is, once again, BC Craft Beer Month (BCCBM).

For those of you who do not know, October was officially declared by the BC Provincial Government in 2011 to be BCCBM, a month that, according to the official proclamation, "will feature a celebration of British Columbia craft beer".

The month is meant to be a time for those who support the local craft beer industry to shine the spotlight on themselves, by creating their own special celebrations which highlight specifically the world-class, craft beer brewed here in BC and raise awareness as to just how successful and important the craft beer industry is here in this province.

More importantly than that, it is an excuse for us who love to tip back a jar or three to get out there and enjoy the BC craft beers that we love.

Although it happens less frequently these days, often our local craft beers get over-shadowed by the amazing beers, and the buzz they create, imported from well known craft breweries down south. In my opinion, it was when these great US beers started arriving on the scene here in BC that the local craft breweries really started to push themselves to create and brew more unique and interesting beers to keep up and hold their places in the local market. Although there was a definite craft beer scene here, especially in Victoria and Vancouver where there were some great beers being brewed, it was these US beers that really started to educate the consumer here in BC as to what craft beer was all about and pushed it out into the open, beyond the beer nerd scene and CAMRA crowd.

In the past five years or so local brewers have not only managed to keep up with their very talented brewing cousins to the south, but have often surpassed them at their own game which is pushing the limits and challenging the norms of how beers taste and pushing the boundaries of recognized beers styles to create new styles and beers others try to emulate.

BC craft beer plays second fiddle to no one these days and one Vancouver establishment, Tap & Barrel, celebrates that fact every day of the year, not just during BCCBM.

This is not a review of the Tap & Barrel, although I personally really like the place and love what owner Daniel Frenkel and his staff  are doing there. No, you will have to go there yourself to judge whether you enjoy the place or not. I think you will, but I have been known to be wrong before.

What I want to highlight is the fact that Tap & Barrel has 24 beers on tap and all are brewed in BC breweries. They embrace and highlight the local scene on a daily basis and are none the worse for wear for doing so because our craft beer industry is producing more than enough great beers to occupy the 24 taps on offer there. And they are just scratching the surface, pouring only a fraction of the good BC beers available. Hopefully, as they get going and gain popularity, they can begin to rotate some of their taps and include some of the great beers and breweries that are not currently represented on their tap list. Hopefully, if they are successful, and I see every indication that they will be, more and more establishments will expand their beer menus and will focus more on our locally produced beers. Tap & Barrel are not the only licensee who boast an all-BC, craft line-up, but I do believe they do have the biggest selection of BC-only beers. If I am wrong, please send me word of where I can find a larger selection of BC beer, and only BC beer, on tap.

The fact that a restaurant like Tap & Barrel can go with an all-BC, craft line-up on their draft beer list - they do offer some macro lagers and imported beers on their modest bottle list - is something I could never of imagined when I first started enjoying beer back when I had hair and a waistline. I come from a time when three national breweries had a complete stranglehold on the market here in BC and when you ordered draft beer, you didn't even bother to order by brand because they all tasted the same and often pubs only had one brewery's beers to offer. Now you not only have multiple styles and categories of beers to choose from, but also many choices within those different styles.

And even as recently as a few years back, although there was a growing selection of craft beers available on the market, many were from cities like Seattle, Portland and San Diego. Now our BC beers are legitimately in the mix and earning more and more tap and shelf space and they are there own their own merit, not just because they are locally brewed.

Before I start getting hate mail from those who love their beers from down south, this is not a knock against those brews or the establishments who serve them. Great craft beer is great craft beer and I am lucky to live in a city where there is a seemingly endless supply of craft beers from all over North America and beyond. But what I am finding more often than not is that I am drinking BC craft beer and not just because it is BC craft beer, but because I prefer them over the others available. I can honestly say that about 90% of the beers I purchase and consume are BC craft beers and like at Tap & Barrel, every month of the year is, for me, BCCBM.

I think because of the huge wave of momentum the BC craft beer industry is riding on right now, you may see more licensees concentrate more heavily on the local breweries. It would be great if the LDB caught on and stopped restricting  the number of listings they give BC breweries, which they should be promoting and supporting as much as possible, not ignoring, especially since domestic craft beer sales are one of the only segments of the alcohol market that is consistently growing. This would help grow the BC craft beer market and as the market grows, it will be able to support more and more breweries giving the consumer more and more choices.

What a great time to be a craft beer lover and living in BC!

Say it Ain't So - LDB Warehouse Distribution Privatization Cancelled

It appears the BC Liberals finally found a way to save face and cancel their plans to sell off the Liquor Distribution Branch's warehouse distribution system.

Hidden in a press release from the Ministry of Finance in regards to the provincial government's tentative agreement with the BCGEU for a new two-year contract, it was announced, "(a)s part of the agreement, the Negotiated Request for Proposal process for the privatization of liquor distribution was cancelled." 

This is welcome news to those who have been opposing how this whole LDB privatization process has been unfolding. I have been saying for a few months now that I believed the Liberals would find a way to back away from their controversial plans but they just needed to find a way to save face and make it look like they were doing it for some greater good, not because of immense pressure from the public and private sectors of BC and the media.

At first glance it looks like the BCGEU, who were very vocal in their opposition to the privatization plus, provided that avenue of escape. 

I think a lot of credit needs to go to the media and bloggers who played a big role in shedding light on what appears to have been some scandalous backroom deals which resembled the controversial BC Rail privatization. On the heels of the HST debacle, it seemed political suicide for the Liberals to try to sneak this privatization past the BC public, but try the did, showing, in my opinion, the arrogant attitude this government has and its disdain for public wants and needs.

What will this mean for BC craft beer consumers? 

Well, we will never really know, but I think in the short term we won't have to worry about potential price increases and restricted access to locally produced craft beer as a result of a private monopoly, accountable to only their shareholders, taking over the warehouse distribution on alcohol in BC. 

The downside is that we are stuck with the current system, which is flawed and needs overhauling, but at least it is a system that is accountable, to some extent, to the voters of BC.

Better to deal with the devil you know...

Let's hope all this media attention on the LDB will prompt some positive changes in the future by the next government, which by all accounts looks to be the NDP. I think those wanting reform need to make this need for the modernization of our liquor system an election issue and push to get commitments from those seeking election next May to bring the LDB and the LCLB into the 21st Century.  

Behold the Wine Snob

A few months back I met with someone from the wine camp and over a few beers we had an excellent discussion about issues common to both the BC wine and craft beer industries, successes the wine lobby have realized as a result of advocating and how the craft beer consumers could better organize to help them realize similar successes.

During this discussion it was pointed out to me the craft beer consumer advocates and the craft beer industry as a whole have a major problem that has nothing to do with the quality of beers being brewed or the lack of organization of the industry and this problem is one that is playing a major role in the lack of support given to craft beer by the government and the hospitality industry.

"You (craft beer consumers/industry) have an image problem," I was told.

This was not news to me, and should not be for the majority involved with the craft beer scene here in BC. It is a reality and a hangover from the Dark Ages of Beer when with a few exceptions, from Coast-to-Coast in Canada, the majority of beers available were basically generic, mass-produced lagers meant to be swilled for the effect, not the taste.

During this Dark Age, beer had no place in the finer restaurants about town, did nothing to enhance or compliment food and was considered a beverage almost exclusively downed by down-and-outs and by middle-class, working men, but thankfully, due to the explosion of the BC craft beer scene and the amazing beers being brewed locally, those days are long gone.

Or are they?

A few weeks back my family and I walked into one of our favourite Commercial Drive eateries and I noticed what looked to be a fairly casual wine tasting in progress. I went over to introduce myself  hoping to score a sample or two of primo vino and strike up a conversation with others who have a passion for good alcohol and food. Quickly the conversation shifted to the recent Bring Your Own Wine legislation and I mentioned my desire, as a consumer advocate of local craft beer, that the laws be further changed to include beer.

That's when I came face-to-face with the reality of the "image problem" facing beer drinkers, whether they be craft beer aficionados or not.

I was told, in no uncertain terms, by one of the people at the tasting, that no restaurant owners would be interested in beer being included in BYOB legislation. This fellow, who told me several times he was the owner of five restaurants, therefore knew what he was talking about, went even further and asked who, in general, would be interested in such a ridiculous idea?

He dismissed the fact that craft beer consumers would be very interested in this concept. He scoffed at the idea that a beer of any style or quality could compliment, never mind elevate, food if paired properly and told me he had no interest in enticing the craft beer crowds to his restaurants because beer drinkers "only order yam fries".

Wow, behold the wine snob.

He wanted to hear nothing about the fact he was actually sitting in a restaurant that supported including beer in BYOB legislation. He pooh-poohed  that, like with wine, people cellar and age certain beers. He simply ignored when I pointed out that there were a multitude of fine dining, beer-pairing dinner events that sell out on a regular basis around the city or that craft beer lovers are often also equally into their fine wines, single malt scotches and gourmet food.

Quite simply, he could not fathom that those who enjoy good craft beer come from diverse backgrounds and have varied tastes and interests just like those who enjoy wine.

He offered no solid arguments other than the ideas that wine is more refined than beer, wine drinkers more sophisticated than those who prefer a fine ale, lambic or stout and that selling craft beer was not profitable.

It was quite obvious to me Mr Wine Snob was actually quite ignorant of what great beers were all about especially when he ordered a macro-lager to enjoy with his food instead of the craft beer option that paired very well with the style of food being served.

Luckily my wife was there to drag me out of the conversation as the condescending and patronizing tone of Mr Wine Snob triggered my inner-Surrey.

There will always be restaurants and bars that cater to wine-lovers, just as there are now places like the Alibi Room, St Augustine's and Biercraft who cater to the craft beer crowd, and places that serve only mainstream lagers and European import "premium" beers and that is fine. There are also fine-dining establishments like  Vij's and Chambar, who have great wine menus, that offer great beer with their food...for a reason.

Because they understand flavours and taste without prejudice. And they give consumers choices.

But Mr Wine Snob is not alone. This is part of the response I received from Rich Coleman, minister in charge of all things alcohol in BC when I wrote him about Bring Your Own Beer to restaurants.

"While we appreciate the evolving nature and uniqueness of craft beer, it is not in the same category as wine."

Behold the wine snob.

More on Mr Coleman at a later date...

As a side note, I don't have time for the beer snob either. .If someone gets pleasure from sipping a sleeve of Molson 67, good for them. You won't find it in my glass and what is in your glass does not impact my drinking experience. I do not assume that those who drink these types of beer are inferior to me, or have no clue about good food because this quite simply is not true.

And if you want to know, Mr Wine Snob, otherwise known as Chris Stewart, is co-owner of the very successful restaurants La buca, Pied-a-Terre, Cafeteria, Commissary and The Sardine Can here in Vancouver. I introduced myself as the president of CAMRA Vancouver and presented my card on the table, therefore he should have known I was on the side of the craft beer consumer, yet he felt it necessary to insult beer drinkers and make it clear to me they were not good for his restaurants. And after he did so, he gave me his card, without his name but listing his establishments, at which time he once again warned me that they were fine-dining, wine-oriented restaurants - places yam fry eating beer lovers like myself may find lacking even though I had told him several times I  had a great love for wine after living in South France for close to three years.

I am not telling you to boycott or avoid his restaurants, as I have said, I have heard they are excellent but if you want a great plate of yam fries or a good beer, please take the above into consideration.

Craft Beer Defined

This evening, when I heard the on the 6:00 news that the term craft beer had been defined and included in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, I was very excited.

Finally I would have a conclusive answer when I am inevitably asked the question ,"what is craft beer?"

This is always one of the first questions posed to me in interviews and it always catches me off guard for some reason, causing me I mumble out some lame-ass definition that makes me sound like I have no clue what I am talking about and which makes the interviewer think they are going to fire their assistants for recommending me for the interview. This inability by me to nail down the perfect definition might be because there was no real consensus as to what constitutes a craft beer because the term was created mostly as a marketing ploy. You ask 10 different beer aficionados to define craft beer and you will get 10 different and often conflicting answers.

But that was before Merriam-Webster got involved.

You can imagine my excitement as I quickly went to their on-line dictionary and typed in "craft beer". Merriam-Webster have been defining the English language since the 1800's so surely they would know how to nail down precisely and succinctly the definition that has alluded all of us beer geeks for the past 15 years or so.

Finally there would be no argument or debate as to what constitutes a craft beer. I was prepared to be enlightened.

So here it is, according to Merriam-Webster: craft beer (noun) - a specialty beer produced in limited quantities.

Well that sure clears things up doesn't it? No longer will I have to struggle to sound learned and intelligent when asked to define craft beer. I can just sit back, with an all-knowing smirk, and spout forth the definition endorsed by those who define the English language, making myself look every inch the expert my interviewer expects me to be.

Seriously, I'm even more confused and have more questions than ever. What defines "a specialty beer"? What defines "limited quantities"? Does that mean my beloved Fat Tug IPA is not a craft beer? Say it ain't so!  It is regularly produced, can be found virtually everywhere in Vancouver year-round and is a beer from a recognized style, so is it a specialty beer made in limited quantities? 

Who cares. I like it so I will drink it until I don't like it any more, no matter what label gets attached to it or pigeon hole its gets shoved into. I don't drink Fat Tug because it is called a craft beer, I drink it because I love its flavour.

I think maybe we, the beer geeks, get too carried away with this whole craft beer thing sometime, especially since no one really knows what the Hell craft beer is exactly. Isn't the point of going out for a beer to enjoy said beer and the company you are with while drinking it? If you like a beer's taste and it hits the spot for you, does it matter whether it is craft or crap? Hell, if Molson M and it's microcarbonation blew away my tastes buds, I would drink it, but predictably, it just blew, so I don't. I have tasted beers that were supposed to be great tasting beers, brewed by the most hip and reputable "craft breweries" and I have disliked them because, yes, you guessed it, they didn't suite my palate.

I've said it before and I'll say it again,  I would drink beer filter through dirty socks if I liked the taste and it didn't kill me.


So maybe this ambiguous definition from Merriam-Webster and lack of consensus on any other definition from the beer world about what defines a craft beer is not all that important. What is important is that we all have ample access to the beers that we love, sold at reasonable prices, in the volumes promised and served in the correct manner.

Meanwhile, I'm going to start memorizing this new definition so I am ready for that next interview. How can I go wrong by answering, "well, according to Merriam-Webster..." 



  

Why Grapes are Being Freed While Hops Remained Shackled

Over the past month BC wine consumers and the BC wine industry have had several reasons to pop champagne corks in celebration of changes to both federal and provincial laws which have benefited both groups.

First Bill C-311, a Private Member's Bill  introduced into the House of Commons by Okanagan-Coquihalla MP Dan Albas, prompted an amendment to the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act (IILA) of 1928 which now allows, under federal law, that wine, and wine only, may transported or shipped across provincial borders by consumers.

Spirits and beer are still illegal to ship or transport across provincial boundaries as they have been since the introduction of the IILA.

Next the Provincial Liberals got in on the act by allowing consumers to buy direct from Canadian wineries and as an added bonus, they did not have to pay the BC Liquor Distribution Branch's (LDB) 123% mark-up! Even though the feds had allowed for cross-border shipments of wine, it is the provincial governments that ultimately have control of what alcohol gets imported into their jurisdictions so this move was critical to give Bill C-311 some meaning.

Again, these allowances were made for wine only, leaving laws unchanged in regards to spirits and beer.

If that weren't enough,  Rich Coleman, the minister responsible for all thing liquor in BC, next announced that BC wine lovers could now take their favourite bottle of wine to participating restaurants, pay a corkage fee and enjoy it with their meal. The allowance for Bring Your Own Wine (BYOW) was immediate and restaurants have been taking advantage of the freedom to allow BYOW since the announcement was made mid-July.

All of these great freedoms and allowances for wine lovers have craft beer drinkers crying into their sleeves. The moves definitely give the appearance that the BC wine consumers and  wine industry get favoured treatment from the BC Liberals, the LDB and the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch (LCLB), and in many cases this is true, but in these cases I would argue that these wine-centric changes have been well-earned by the consumers of wine in this province who have organized, lobbied and gained the support from the industry to back their fight to change laws.

Groups like #freemygrapes, who Albas thanks on his website for their essential support, and Modernize Wine have been working hard to bring wine consumers together on issues and form loud, strong voices that the government and the wine industry have not been able to ignore. They have a small core of very dedicated people who are adept at creating a buzz, educating other consumers about the importance of supporting their movements and catching the attention of politicians. They are good at defining, ahead of time, exactly what it is that they want, creating an action plan and then going out and getting the results they want..

And contrary to popular belief, these movements are not heavily funded by deep-pocketed vineyard owners, at least not in the beginning.

#Freemygrapes and Modernize Wine are consumer-driven, grassroots movements. They use social media  to the maximum to create a buzz and focus attention on themselves. They often organize on-line chats, to discuss the issues at hand and keep people focused. They have email write-in and Twitter campaigns which target politicians and bureaucrats who are in positions to influence the changes they seek and put pressure on the various private sector groups to support them. More importantly than organizing these awareness-raising events is that they get participation in large numbers which is essential. They are determined and have been organizing for years now, which is one of the major reasons they are now seeing successes.

These movements being consumer-driven makes sense because many, if not all manufacturers, vendors and importers of alcohol in BC are afraid to stick their heads up and speak out about problems and demand changes due to the atmosphere of fear and the widely-held belief that voicing complaints and concerns will result in reprisals from the LCLB and LDB. I don't know how many times I have heard from licensees they feel both government agencies are "vindictive" when challenged either privately or publicly. You only have to look at the RIO Theatre saga, where RIO ownership publicly challenged the Liberal Government and LCLB in the media and paid the price with the process dragging on much longer that it needed to, almost costing RIO ownership their business, before Mr Coleman finally did what he should have done straight off, which is make changes to a decades-old liquor policy that had no place being enforced in the 21st Century.

It is a widely-held belief by many that the process involving the RIO's licensing issues was purposely delayed to make the RIO ownership pay for their direct public challenges. These are, of course, just rumours....

So it is up to us, the consumers, to lead the charge as we have less to lose in regards to what the LCLB and/or LDB can do to us. They cannot suspend our liquor license or hit us with some arbitrary fine for "contravening" liquor laws. They cannot lose our liquor order of products that fill our shelves. They cannot lose our paperwork, delaying payment for products sold weeks before.

They can ignore us, but in the end, if consumers make enough noise, with enough people, politicians, who ultimately call the shots for the LCLB and LDB, will listen because consumers are voters and in the end, politicians are all about getting votes so they can stay in power.

The craft beer consumer is not without options and does have CAMRA BC, and their branches in Vancouver, Victoria and the Fraser Valley, to rally around but CAMRA BC does have numbers, with close to 1,100 individual members and over 80 corporate supporters, but those numbers mean nothing if the majority of members are silent and/or unwilling to get involved. I made recent calls to individual members to write emails to LCLB General Karen Ayers and minister Rich Coleman in support of CAMRA Vancouver's Bring Your Own Craft Beer Campaign and out of the 250 or so who had signed our petition and our 700+ members, about 20 people responded (and my thanks to all who did respond).

A group like CAMRA and movements/campaigns are only as effective as those supporting it and until craft beer consumers learn to get as organized, vocal and supportive as wine consumers are, they are going to be like poor kids standing outside the candy shop with their noses pressed up against the window, jealously watching the rich kids inside the store sampling and buying their sweets.

So, craft beer consumers, if you want to #freemyhops, Bring Your Own Craft Beer or are against the LDB privatization of distribution, get active, get involved and support those groups out there, like CAMRA BC/CAMRA Vancouver, who are actively trying to make a difference. Write letters to the editor, get involved in tweet and email campaigns, sign petitions, get friends and family interested in supporting the cause.

And if you are waiting for the person next to you to fight your battle, don't because I have news for you, they are probably waiting for you to fight their's.

CAMRA BC Speaks Out on LDB Privatization - Time For Craft Beer Consumers to be Heard

Disclaimer: For those who do not know, I am the current president of CAMRA Vancouver. I write this blog as myself and the opinions voiced here on VanEast Beer Blog are mine, not those of CAMRA BC, CAMRA Vancouver or another organization

In case you missed it, last week the Campaign for Real Ale of British Columbia (CAMRA BC) spoke out publicly against the current Liberal Government plans to sell off the province's liquor distribution warehouses and warehouse distribution system to the private sector, joining groups like the Alliance of Beverage Licensees of BC, the BC Government Employees Union and The Craft Brewer's Guild of BC and the NDP Party of BC in voicing their dissent.

In an email to Rich Coleman (see below) and many other major players in the current privatization process, CAMRA BC, a craft beer consumer advocacy group, voiced displeasure about the fact the the Liberals have not been able to guarantee that the privatization plans will not negatively impact the access to locally brewed craft beer or that alcohol prices will not increase for the craft beer consumers of BC. They also point to the absence of consultation with the private and public sectors of the province and to the fact that the Liberals have not produced a business case or cost-effect analysis to support their privatization plans.

The email came one day before NDP Alcohol Critic Shane Simpson dropped a bombshell by releasing documents showing the BC Liberals had no current plans to privatize before being approached last summer by Exel Logistics, who made a pitch to take over the province's alcohol distribution which they had been pursuing for years. For excellent coverage of the whole affair check out Bob Mackins blog 2010 Goldrush #LiquorLeaks.

I hope the CAMRA BC (CAMRA Victoria, CAMRA Vancouver, CAMRA Fraser Valley) membership at large pick up on the cue that it is time to start voicing their dissent individually as well. It is all well and good when organizations speak out as a whole, but the voice becomes much louder when the individuals who make up the membership of these organizations take it upon themselves to make some noise themselves.

One email from CAMRA BC to Rich Coleman, et al, is essential. One thousand emails from CAMRA BC members will have Coleman and all involved sitting up and taking notice as each voice of dissent is a vote and in politics that is what counts.

This whole affair has the same stink to it that the HST did when the BC Liberals did another about face about face, changing their position from "no HST" prior to the 2011 election to announcing implementation of the since shot-down tax shortly after being voted back in.

Maybe it is time for an another HST-type, grassroots revolt here in BC to show the Liberals once and for all, we will not tolerate being lied to and deceived. The necessary emails are all below for anyone who feels it is important to speak out in order to try to stop this process until the government provides some evidence the move is good for British Columbians and determine that this is indeed what the citizens of BC want.

Democracy only works if there is participation from the masses.

From: CAMRA President <pres@camravancouver.ca> Date: Wed, Jul 11, 2012 at 5:38 PM  Subject: Campaign for Real Ale of British Columbia position LDB Distribution Warehouse Privatization
To: rich.coleman.mla@leg.bc.ca 

Cc: <Shane.Simpson.MLA@leg.bc.ca>, kevin.falcon.mla@leg.bc.ca, margaret.macdiarmid.mla@leg.bc.ca, Roger.Bissoondatt@bcldb.com, office@macauley.ca, <Karen.Ayers@gov.bc.ca> 

Dear Mr Coleman   

I am writing you this letter on behalf of the Campaign for Real Ale of British Columbia (CAMRA BC), a craft beer consumer advocacy group who represent more than 1000 individual and 100 corporate members here in British Columbia and of which I am the Vancouver Branch President and member of the BC Executive.  

Since the announcement of the BC Liberal Government’s plan to sell off the Liquor Distribution Branch’s warehouses and with them the province’s warehouse distribution system, many groups have come out against the plan, including the opposition NDP Party, Alliance of Beverage Licensees of BC, the BC Government Employee’s Union and the Craft Brewer’s Guild of BC.   

There have been complaints of the complete absence of consultation with BC’s liquor industry or the general public, and the lack of guarantees that this privatization plan will not negatively impact the alcohol industry and alcohol consumers of this province.   

It is now our turn, the craft beer consumers of BC, to voice our dissent due in large part to  the lack of information as to how this privatization will affect the craft beer industry and craft beer consumers and because the current government cannot guarantee 100 percent that this privatization deal, when completed and implemented, will not have a negative impact on the craft beer consumers of BC.   

No business case has been presented. A clear cost-effect analysis should be completed and presented to both the liquor industry and general public in order to clarify exactly how privatization will affect liquor prices before this process goes any further.   

No study has been done and no guarantees have been made as to whether privatization will affect access to BC-brewed beers from local, craft breweries.  

At the moment, the Provincial Government has a mandate to make these beers accessible, but will this continue after privatization?   

In short, CAMRA BC cannot currently support this privatization plan and will continue to voice dissent until the following steps are taken:

1. Conduct a study to provide objective data showing how this move will impact the craft beer consumers of BC  

1. Make public a business case and/or cost-effect analysis

1. Have a full and meaningful consultation with both the private and public sectors of the province in regards to the planned sale and privatization of the Liquor Distribution Branch's warehouses and warehouse distribution system  

If, after those steps have been taken and it is shown that this privatization plan will not negatively impact the craft beer consumers of BC, CAMRA BC will be willing to support this move publicly on behalf of our membership. 

Thank you for your time. 

Paddy Treavor  

President, Vancouver Branch - CAMRA BC

The Sh*t Has Hit the Fan

The shit really hit the fan Thursday, splattering all over the BC Liberals and their plans to fast-track the sale of the LDB warehouses and warehouse distribution system.

NDP MLA, and my favourite BC politician at the moment, Shane Simpson, flung the poop when he dropped a bombshell, producing 39 pages of documents that show that the BC Liberals, as far along as June 2011, had no plans to privatize liquor distribution, yet weeks later, after then Solicitor General Shirley Bond was approached by Exel Logistics VP Scott Lyons, the government had a change of heart and forged ahead with the privatization plan, despite having no business case.

After Simpson released the documents, accessed through Freedom of Information, there was a media frenzy. I especially enjoyed Vaughn Palmer's grilling of Labour Minister Margaret MacDiarmid on CKNW shortly after Simpson's announcement. MacDiarmid's comment that, "governments do change their minds" is ridiculous under the circumstances when you consider that in June/11 LDB privatization was not on the table, yet after the meeting with Lyons August 25th/11, the privatization proposal was alive and moving forward. It reeks of the BC Liberal claims that the HST "was not on their radar" prior to the 2011 election, yet weeks after being voted back into government, Gordon Campbell and his Liberal Government were ramming the hated tax down tax payers throats. 

At least one respected political pundit, retired political journalist, Havery Overfeld, believes that current government cabinet ministers could be charged criminally if they go through with the sale and privatization.  

Do the Liberal government really think the general public are that stupid?

Reporter Bob Mackin has been exposing the whole sordid LDB privatization mess with his series of blog posts hash tagged #liquorleaks on his blog 2010 Gold Rush. In a post from May, Mackin released a document that shows that although the BC Provincial Government did not have a plan to privatize the LDB, Exel Logistics did and they were actively trying to sell it to the Campbell era Liberals in 2010. There is now proof that the lobbying of the Liberals by Exel goes back as far as 2005 and that Exel were attempting to help shape the government's Request For Proposals (RFP), using Progressive Group lobbyists Patrick Kinsella and Mark Jiles, both of whom have strong Liberal connections, so that Exel would have an advantage.

I can't keep track of all that is happening now as the story is so convoluted but here is a good summing up from Vancouver Sun reporter Jeff Lee. There are just too many of the same characters showing up with the same connections for this whole affair to be on the up-and-up.

Here are some of the major players and how they are connected:

1. Exel Logistics VP Scott Lyons, who approached the BC Liberals to present this privatization plan is the same Scott Lyons who was high up in the food chain in The Beer Store organization, a chain of beer retail outlets that dominates the Ontario beer market with an 85% share and who are owned by Labbat Brewing Company, Molson Coors Canada and Sleemans Breweries.
2. The Beer Store funneled well over 100,000 in political contributions into BC Liberal coffers since 2005, despite having no retail outlets here in BC, which you can read about here and here.
3. Exel Logistics hired the Progressive Group to help lobby the government in regards to privatization of the LDB.
4. Progressive Group is owned by Pat Kinsella, who has strong Liberal connections having been an adviser to Christie Clark during her successful bid to become premier last year. Kinsella was also former Premier Gordon Campbell's campaign manager during the 2001 and 2005 elections and who was involved in the whole BC Rail debacle .
5. Mark Jiles, a Progressive Group consultant, registered in 2010, along with Kinsella, to lobby Liberal cabinet ministers including Rich Coleman, Shirley Bond and Pat Bell, on behalf of Exel Logistics, "to develop a new liquor distribution system for the Province of BC".   
6. Mark Jiles, according to his LinkIn profile was a sales consultant for Labbat Breweries of BC. Mr Jiles is also no stranger to controversy when it comes to suspicious lobbying.
7. Exel Logistics has run Alberta's liquor distribution since 1994. A recent post on onbeer.org highlights many problems associated with having a private monopoly running a provincial distribution system.

I hope that these latest developments peaks the public ire and motivates the people of BC to demand a halt to this process until the Liberals can produce evidence they are not just selling off public assets to appease big business and reward long-time supporters and friends. If they can produce a business case and a cost-benefit analysis that supports that this move is in the best interest of British Colombians, then I say let them put those forth for the public and private sectors to assess and then hold a referendum during the next election so that we have an actual say in what goes on in this province.

Until that time, I hope the likes of Shane Simpson and Bob Mackin keep putting Liberal feet to the fire.

You would think that after the HST disaster, the Liberals would have learned.