Cheap beer in Manitoba is causing a pricing debate to bubble over, pitting those who say it encourages binge drinking against those who fear higher costs will only drive abusers to other substances.
The discount beer segment has been a mainstay in the province for more than three years as companies such as Minhas Creek Brewing, Labatt and Molson battle for the not-so-finicky tastebuds of frugal consumers.
John Borody of AFM says retailers should have minimum prices, as restaurants do.
Greg D'Avignon, president of Canada's National Brewers Western region, said Manitoba is one of two provinces -- Alberta is the other -- without a "social reference price", or minimum price, at liquor stores and vendors for wine, spirits and beer. He said the low prices encourage those looking for the biggest bang for their buck to load up on cheap suds, often before heading to parties or nightclubs.
"I can go into a hotel and spend $2.25 on a glass of beer or I can walk 15 feet away (to the vendor) and get twice that much in a can for $2," he said. "We're in support of a minimum price. It takes all of this stupidity out of the marketplace."
D'Avignon said Minhas Creek set the stage for increased binge drinking when it burst on the Manitoba scene in late 2004 and undercut the competition by $3 on six-packs of cans.
"A U.S. brewer came in (to Manitoba) at really cheap prices. That's why you guys are buying (Labatt) Lucky. Labatt had no choice but to follow the price. That's not where Canadian brewers would like to be. It's irresponsible opportunism. We don't have some of the same problems in other provinces because of the social reference price," he said.
John Borody, CEO of the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba, said a 2006 survey from the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse found binge drinking in Manitoba was above the national average.
"The literature out there shows cheap beer is encouraging people to consume more. We would be in favour of minimum prices," he said.
Borody said it's incongruous to have minimum prices in restaurants and bars but not in retail stores. He said bartenders and servers monitor their customers as best they can to ensure they're not overconsuming but it's tough to gauge when their prior consumption is unknown.
"Some people have three drinks and all of a sudden they're a problem. They could have had six (drinks) in the parking lot," he said.
Borody is quick to note while a minimum pricing policy on beer would reduce binge drinking, it wouldn't have any impact on alcoholics, who will simply search out alternatives.
Diana Soroka, communications manager at the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission, said it faced a similar situation back in the 1980s with low-priced sherry.
"It was very attractive to a certain segment of the population who were binge drinking on it. We raised the prices, hoping that might alleviate the problem but those people switched to solvents and non-potables such as hairspray, nail polish remover and mouthwash," she said.
Social agencies responded by asking the MLCC to revert to the old prices saying liquor was the safer low-cost alternative."To say we're going to put in minimum pricing on beer is going to create more problems for us down the road," she said.
Soroka said the minimum price for a can of beer in Ontario is just a nickel or so cheaper compared to the free market price in Manitoba.
"That seems pretty nominal to me," she said.
Manjit Minhas, president of Minhas Creek, said she's "very happy" with the situation in Manitoba and Alberta, which allowed her company to carve out a niche with its "go big and go low" strategy. She said minimum prices are contrary to the free enterprise system.
"Why should the government set the price I sell beer at? As long as I give them their taxes and abide by the law, why should they tell me what I have to charge a consumer?" she said. "You should let the competition in the marketplace duke it out for the customer's dollar. No price wars can take place at the retail level (with minimum pricing)."
geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca
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