A Moncton, N.B., bar owner says he’s facing red tape and mark-ups when trying to buy alcohol from other provinces despite New Brunswick’s bid to reduce interprovincial trade barriers.
Marc Leger, who owns the Laundromat Espresso bar in downtown Moncton, loves offering hard-to-find brands of beer and liquor to his customers in addition to the locally-produced brands he sells.
However, sourcing it hasn’t been easy.
“For me to go source these things, I have to apply for a special order through ANBL, NB Liquor, then they will try to source it out through SAQ in Quebec or LCBO in Ontario,” he said.
Leger said there has always been a 10 to 15 per cent markup on the product with NB Liquor as the middleman. But he said he got sticker shock when he picked up his last special order a couple of weeks ago and saw the price had dramatically increased.
“A beer that’s $4.50 in Ontario and with my mark-up, once I pay $10.50 for a beer and I charge tax, it’s almost 20 bucks in my fridge,” he said.
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“So it’s really frustrating and it’s really killing my market.”
In a statement to Global News, NB Liquor said current “complex economic conditions outside our hands,” such as higher import costs, have resulted in price increases.
“Special orders involve sourcing and purchasing products, outside of our regular processes, and often are related to rare or low-volume products, which can affect their pricing,” wrote Florence Gouton, a spokesperson from the Crown corporation.
The Liberals proposed an amendment to the province’s Liquor Control Act this week in the legislature, however, it still wouldn’t allow Leger to cut out the middleman and purchase directly from other liquor boards.
“The proposed amendments aim to reduce red tape, eliminate outdated provisions and create new licence opportunities to better serve the industry,” Robert Gauvin, the province’s public safety minister, said on Tuesday.
— with a file from Rebecca Lau
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