Minister of red tape reduction, entangled by cheap alcohol

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There was no ideal backdrop for the Alberta Services Minister’s strange and pointless foray into the Alberta liquor market, but doing so at an event billed as “getting out of the way of business” was especially tone-deaf.

The event was intended to highlight the province’s Bureaucracy Reduction Charter Act, but instead the headlines revolved around Dale Nally (who, ironically, also serves as bureaucracy reduction minister) and his righteous crusade against rude jugs of liquor.

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What drew the minister’s ire were four-liter plastic containers of vodka being sold at an Edmonton liquor store for the bargain price of $49.95, as was first discovered and shared by a Postmedia reporter. The vodka itself was produced by St. Albert-based T-Rex Distillery, although both the distillery and the retailer have since recalled the product in response to the minister’s outburst. It is not clear why this should be considered a satisfactory result.

Neither the distillery nor the retailer violated any rules or regulations at any point in this process. Nally’s anxiety was a low-priced, large-quantity cocktail and the fact that the vodka was packaged in an ugly plastic jug.

“I have a problem with all of this,” he declared, adding, “I don’t think a four-liter plastic jug of vodka will increase the quality of the distilling industry we have in this province.”

The minister’s response to the obvious point about all the rules being followed was to observe that “what falls short of this is the spirit of Albertans, which is what we believe is responsible pricing.”

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However, later that week, the minister said: “We do not intend to come in any way between the retailer and the consumer. “We will not establish minimum prices.” It’s hard to say whether we should take this as a clarification or a reversal.

So if the minister isn’t going to impose minimum prices at the retail level, what exactly was the point of any of this, other than to intimidate Alberta businesses that weren’t doing anything wrong? Although he did note that “I can’t predict what will happen in the future,” leaving the door open to quantity limits, jug bans, or who knows what else.

It’s hard to imagine that this hasn’t created greater concern and confusion in the industry about what kind of arbitrary evaluation the government could use to deem another product or promotion unacceptable. Follow the rules, yes, but be prepared for the unpredictable whims of capricious government ministers who could still ruin your plans. But other than that, we are getting out of the way of the business.

It is also quite galling that a government that talks so often about an “affordability crisis” is now simultaneously claiming that we have a crisis of too much affordability in certain sectors of the economy.

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In a statement, T-Rex Distillery notes that its product was reviewed and approved by the AGLC, as was the price. They also pointed out that at no time did the minister or anyone from the government communicate with them. If there is a concern, why not reach out to the companies involved, rather than publicly crucifying them?

What’s ironic, however, is T-Rex’s explanation for what opened the door to these lower-priced spirits: the AGLC’s elimination of the “80/20” rule. Previously, distilleries had to produce 80 percent of their product internally and could import the rest. Now, any distillery can import any quantity, without distilling anything itself.

This is arguably a more consumer-friendly approach, but it is the same company that has been publicly called irresponsible by the Alberta government that is calling for a return to the previous policy.

Reducing bureaucracy and getting out of the way of business are laudable goals for the government. Let this serve as a lesson in how to do the opposite.

“Afternoons with Rob Breakenridge” airs Monday to Friday from 12:30 to 3 pm on QR Calgary (770 am / 107.3 fm)

[email protected]

X: @RobBreakenridge

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