Letter to the Editor
The Globe and Mail
December 23, 2008

Sir,

Your article "Province wanted higher beer price, papers show" (Dec 22, 2008) raises several important points related to the price of beverage alcohol (in this case, beer), the role of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) and its relationship with the Government of Ontario.

In 2007, the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA), along with several key stakeholders, including signatories to this letter, other substance abuse organizations, federal and provincial governments, government liquor control boards and regulators, and representatives of the alcohol industry, developed recommendations for Canada's first-ever national alcohol strategy, entitled "Reducing Alcohol-related Harm in Canada: Towards a Culture of Moderation." This groundbreaking work outlined 41 recommendations to mitigate for the abuse of alcohol, which is estimated to cost Canadians $14.6B per year in health care, lost productivity, enforcement costs and premature death - but recognizes that the majority of Canadians do drink alcohol, many of them responsibly. Alcohol is a legal commodity that has economic and social benefits, but there is little question that this product requires particular controls and attention by all involved.

Approaches that limit the availability of alcohol, such as pricing and taxation policies, are some of the most effective ways to manage alcohol-related harm. While such policies affect all of us who drink, alcohol availability comes at a high social cost and is appropriately reflected in its price. In addition, higher prices generally translate into lower consumption and thereby reduce alcohol-related harm. Final retail prices interact with disposable income to influence rates of consumption of alcohol. Two key strategies for controlling alcohol-related health and social problems involve pricing alcohol at levels that discourage heavy (high-risk) consumption, and maintain the real value of prices relative to inflation over time. As such, "Towards a Culture of Moderation" calls for all provinces in Canada to adopt minimum retail social-reference prices (so-called minimum prices) for alcohol, and index these prices, at least annually, to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

With regard to the relationship between the LCBO and government, government liquor control boards are responsible for setting and enforcing the most important policies determining general accessibility of alcohol for off-premise consumption. Canada is among a minority of countries that continues to control alcohol distribution and sales, either partially or fully, through government liquor control boards. While this monopoly arrangement was originally designed to ensure that social responsibility issues were not subordinated to economic and financial considerations, liquor control boards have indeed gradually moved away from focusing on this original mandate to addressing other consumer priorities. It is important to highlight that the additional revenue gained through increased minimum pricing and sales tax is used, in part, to fund and support programs aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm. The LCBO's relationship with MADD Canada is positive evidence of this. However, the fact that the LCBO reports to the Ministry of Finance rather than the Ministry of Health behooves the Government of Ontario to take a coordinated and comprehensive approach to alcohol policy. "Towards a Culture of Moderation" calls for: maintaining current systems of control over alcohol sales with particular emphasis on requiring liquor control boards to maintain a social-responsibility frame of reference; ensuring that alcohol is consistently sold in a socially-responsible way; and encouraging the systematic re-examination of alcohol availability that increased access can lead to increased harm.

The LCBO's move to increase the floor price of beer is the correct one, irrespective of the questions of how or why it occurred. As your article reported, the last time the price of regular-strength beer was adjusted was in October of 2005. It is unlikely that this is the case for other commodities commonly purchased by Ontarians. The minimum price increase does mean that we all have to dig a little deeper in our pockets to acquire the same product and that is particularly challenging during these economic times - but it is precisely during these financial downturns that we need to be mindful of unhealthy alcohol consumption patterns. We strongly encourage the LCBO, the Government of Ontario, and all other provinces to vigilantly exercise their social responsibility obligations for the benefit of all Canadians "Towards a Culture of Moderation."

Michel Perron, Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse

Paul E. Garfinkel, MD, FRCP(C), President and Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Tim Stockwell, Ph.D., Director, Centre for Addiction Research – British Columbia

Andrew Murie, Chief Executive Officer, MADD Canada