He wrote that it's time for Quebecers "to pop the cork," on the SAQ.Ī Quebec economist at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières thinks it's about time a government launched a pilot project to see how carving away at least some business form the Crown corporation would benefit consumers and Quebec producers.įrédéric Laurin thinks that if there were specialty stores that could sell wine or whiskeys, for example, customers would have access to a greater selection of wine and spirits. "What are the advantages for the SAQ's customers? Certainly not competitive prices, a diversified offer or a real promotion of Quebec's local products," Duhaime wrote. In 2014, he published a 164-page book where he questioned how the province-owned monopoly benefitted citizens. It seems to be a subject that's preoccupied him for some time. At the time, Duhaime said he wanted a variety of food shops to be able to sell alcohol to help boost local economies. He raised it during the 2022 election campaign.
The privatization concept is not a new one for Duhaime. Over-regulation is stifling our alcoholic beverage producers," Duhaime said in a press release. "It is not the role of the government to monopolize the sale of alcohol. He said he favours competition in the marketplace. On Wednesday, they found an advocate in the leader of the Quebec Conservative Party, Éric Duhaime, who proclaimed his support for the idea during a press conference in Quebec City. In the preamble to their proposal, party supporters explained that hundreds of Quebec spirit, ciders and wine producers are being "hampered by too much bureaucracy," due to the SAQ's monopoly on purchasing and selling alcoholic beverages.
Privatizing the SAQ was an idea Fran]çois Legault had floated before he was elected premier, but he didn't raise the idea during the 2018 election campaign and ruled out the idea six months after taking office. And then it could go up to $2.6 billion if you count federal taxes," Girard said. It goes up to $2.2 billion if you count taxes. "We have no intention of attacking or changing the SAQ monopoly, which brings in $1.4 billion in dividends. The proposal, listed in the participant's online booklet, is being put forward by party members from the Saint-Jérôme riding, currently CAQ MNA Yourri Chassain's riding.īut on Wednesday afternoon, in a preemptive move, the CAQ's finance minister Eric Girard shut the door on privatization, indicating that the SAQ revenue the government channels into public services is too valuable. Supporters of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) will propose an end to the liquor monopoly held by the SAQ when they meet at its 2023 conference on May 13-14.
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