Ottawa shoppers who've noticed empty shelves where American whiskey and California wine used to sit are now footing part of the bill for what's become a very expensive game of limbo. New figures obtained by CBC News show the Ontario government has spent roughly $8 million storing a $79-million stockpile of U.S. alcohol pulled from LCBO shelves — and it still won't say what happens next.
How We Got Here
The pullback started as a retaliatory move in the ongoing Canada-U.S. trade dispute, with Ontario yanking American-made spirits, wine, and beer from LCBO shelves across the province, including the dozen-plus locations here in Ottawa. The idea was simple: hit U.S. producers where it hurts by cutting off access to one of their biggest export markets.
But months later, that product hasn't been destroyed, returned, or restocked. Instead, it's sitting in warehouses, racking up storage costs that fall to Ontario taxpayers — Ottawa residents included, given the city is home to a significant share of the LCBO's customer base and several of its warehousing and distribution touchpoints in the Ottawa Valley region.
The Ottawa Angle
For Ottawa drinkers, the practical effect has been thinner selections at neighbourhood LCBO outlets from Westboro to the Byward Market, with some popular U.S. bourbons and Napa Valley wines simply unavailable since the ban took effect. Local restaurant and bar owners in the capital, already navigating tight margins, have had to adjust their menus and find Canadian or international substitutes for American products that used to be reliable, well-priced staples.
More troubling for Ottawa taxpayers is the price tag attached to indecision. The $8 million in storage costs and the estimated $2.6 million in expired product represent public money that could otherwise be funding services in the capital region, from transit to housing. As a government town, Ottawa has a particular stake in seeing provincial dollars spent efficiently rather than tied up warehousing bottles nobody can sell.
No Clear Answers
Despite repeated questions from CBC News, the Ontario government has offered no timeline or plan for what happens to the remaining stockpile. It's unclear whether the alcohol will eventually be returned to shelves if trade tensions ease, sold off at a loss, or simply left to expire further, adding to the waste already tallied.
For now, the situation leaves Ottawa consumers with fewer options at the LCBO and taxpayers across the province, including in the capital, covering the cost of a policy stuck in political purgatory. With no resolution to the broader trade dispute in sight, that storage meter keeps running.
Source: CBC Ottawa
