BC Now Ranked 9th Highest for Domestic Beer Prices in the World! (if we were a country)

Recently BC introduced new minimum beer prices that force licensees to sell beer for on-site (in bar or

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restaurant) consumption for $0.25 per 28 ml (one ounce) which are the highest beer prices in Canada.

And if that was not bad enough news for BC beer consumers, according to the website numbeo.com, we are now also the ranked 9th highest IN THE WORLD for domestic beer prices!!

Using a 500 ml (18 oz pour) as the gage, BC, at $4.50, finds only Iran ($8.32), United Arab Emirates ($6.47), Papua New Guinea ($6.45), Singapore ($4.99), Australia ($4.85), Norway, $4.82, Afghanistan ($4.62) and Qatar ($4.56) with higher priced domestic beer.

According to this website, it is cheaper to get a beer in countries known for their liberal attitudes like Kuwait, Libya and Iraq.

Just for the record, the website ranks Canada at 20th, with an 18 oz pour averaging $2.86 well below BC's newly set minimum.

I am not sure how reliable these statistics are, as they are compiled by input from users of the website around the world. But since health care advocates are freely using vaguely referenced studies, unsupported statistics and statistics taken out of context, I am going to put these numbers out there for all to ponder and have a little fun with them.

The website  where I found these stats, via a post on financesonline.com and an post by David Adeleman, states, "Numbeo is the world’s largest database of user contributed data about cities and countries worldwide. Numbeo provides current and timely information on world living conditions including cost of living, housing indicators, health care, traffic, crime and pollution. Numbeo uses the wisdom of the crowd to obtain the most reliable information possible."

If these stats are remotely accurate, it does not paint a pretty picture for BC beer consumers. It is yet another reason we need to voice our opinions loud and clear to Premier Christy Clark, Justice Minister Suzanne Anton, et al.

A Call to Action - Please Take A Minute to Make a Difference

As you all know I am thoroughly disgusted by the ill-though-through policy that has introduced a new

kind of sums it all up doesn't it? photo by dennis the foodie

minimum drink price here in BC, giving us the highest drink price minimum in the country.

From the thousands of hits on my posts related to this and the overwhelming negative reaction to this policy I have received in the form of emails, tweets, comments & Facebook comments, I think it is time to act and let those who brought in this policy, and those who can advocate on behalf of alcohol consumers in BC, know we want this changed.

You may think, "why bother", but I can tell you from past experience, this works. When a politician gets 50-100 e-mails related to a certain issue, they take notice. When they get hundreds, especially of the negative variety, they get nervous and tend towards action. If they get thousands, well, they simply cannot ignore them.

If we act, maybe the Liberals will find a way to save face and fix this bad policy.

One thing is certain; if we do not act, nothing will happen. Please bcc me so I can keep track of the numbers of e-mails sent.

The e-mail does not need to be long. Short, sweet, polite and to-the-point. If you have specific examples as to how this new minimum drink policy is negatively impacting you - i.e., prices at your local have gone up, or the discount provided at your local being minimal because the drink price minimum is only slightly lower than the regular price - use them. I would recommend just sending one email and addressing it to all you want to send it to. I have provided email addresses below for you to cut and paste and a link so you can find your local MLA's contact info.

I would also suggest you "like" the Fix BC Happy Hour Facebook page as I am sure the politicians are keeping tabs on it and seeing the numbers rise substantially will make them nervous as well. Yes, I know Bill Tieleman has ties to the NDP and was one of their strategists, but this isn't about political parties, it is about getting bad policy fixed so it works for all of BC, not just those who want to see increases to alcohol prices in BC.

This policy just makes no sense.  Previous to this new legislation, there were literally hundreds of daily drink specials - specials that had to be maintained for the entire time a licensee was open that day - that were lower than the current drink price minimums and there seemed to be no issues or need to fix things due to widespread drunkenness, abuse and over-serving.

Now, to protect ourselves from ourselves, they have introduced temporary specials, happy hours, at higher prices to what end as the pricing during the daily specials were not causing undue problems. As well, in other provinces with substantially lower minimum drink prices, there are no glaring issues or problems that I have seen. The last time I was in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary or Halifax, I did not see drunken mayhem in the streets, yet our government, who were sold a bill of goods by "industry & health advocates", saw the need to set our minimum much higher to prevent problems that quite frankly do not exist in other jurisdictions.

Please write. Encourage your friends and family of drinking age to write. Remember to state in your e-mail you are a registered voter as losing votes is one of the few things that gets a politicians attention 100% of the time.

Here are some relevant e-mail addresses:

Christy Clark - premier@gov.bc.ca
Suzanne Anton (Justice Minister)  - JAG.Minister@gov.bc.ca
Douglas Scott (GM of Liquor Control & Licensing) - douglas.s.scott@gov.bc.ca
John Yap - John.Yap.MLA@leg.bc.ca
Shane Simpson (NDP critic liquor portfolio) - Shane.Simpson.MLA@leg.bc.ca
VanEast Beer Blog - vaneastbeerblog@gmail.com

List for MLA contact info