It would be interesting if there was a federal party with big ideas and detailed policy proposals worth actually getting behind.
Lol. Out of curiosity, are you hearing this from management, or from staff on the floor?
If prices are so high that a store inspires a unified national boycott, jobs loss (if it happens) can actually be blamed directly on the prices!
Not going to steal, but definitely will boycott for the month of May.
As a millennial with a not-amazing but decent paying job, the notion of retirement at all is laughable. What incentive do people like me have to save, when inflation and cost of living are on the trajectory that they're currently on? Putting money away at this point just means less money for groceries, rent, and enjoyable things. And in 5 years, that saved money will be worth less than it is today.
Minimum pricing in AB, AFAIK, is regulated on the wholesale price of the product. So, producers are regulated, but retail stores aren't prevented from competition, loss leaders, stunts, etc., which is what this might be.
Given that the tax money from alcohol/tobacco just goes into provincial and federal slush funds that proportionately end up being funneled into seniors benefits, I don't believe minimum pricing really addresses the things that people think it does. I'm an advocate of directing alcohol taxes towards the harms it creates. But, try to find a politician who wants to grind that axe. I say this as someone who enjoys a good beverage, & acknowledging the pragmatic importance of offsetting the healthcare costs of alcohol abuse. I don't believe that simply making a good more expensive is the wisest move on the policy side, if healthcare outcomes are the ultimate target.
Alberta does have minimum prices for both wholesale as well as on-premise liquor.
For the interested, my estimate is that $34.28 of this sticker price is liquor tax.
Federal excise is $13.93 per litre of absolute alcohol. Normally, AB provincial liquor tax is $13.76 per litre of volume, but this 4L is probably self-distributed by an AWP producer. They get reduced rates that scale based on the volume of production. Here, I'd guess it's something like $3 per litre of volume.
AB government advocacy for local craft producers: Drake no
AB government advocacy for gambling and cannabis: Drake yes
The liquor regulation system in Alberta is prohibitionary already. What changes would you want to see?
Every cheap clear spirit from an AB producer is proofed, or re-distilled 97%abv neutral grain spirit from a factory in Saskatchewan. The neutral grain spirit from Saskatchewan is very high quality, so, actually kind of impossible to fuck up. Some distilleries actually manage to, however.
Median wage of $45k per year is wild. Tough to live comfortably on that in most cities in this country.
Talking points printed for comrades at the Russian troll farm
Their menu increasing contradicts the core principles of taste.