Latest news with #JaredMurphy
CTV News
23-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Craft brewers warn red tape could sour plans for cross-Canada beer sales
Pouring into new markets - and the cups of millions of new customers - is on the table for Canada's craft breweries, but some business owners are raising more questions than toasts. A federal agreement is set to allow alcohol producers to sell straight to consumers in most provinces by May 2026, tearing down long standing interprovincial trade barriers. All but one province, Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as the Yukon are on board. Some brewers, however, say the trouble of moving beer across borders outweighs the benefits. 'It's probably not something that we would look to offer in the near future, based on the logistical challenges and the costs of shipping,' said Jared Murphy, co-owner of Lone Oak Brewing Co. in P.E.I. Beer is heavy, shipping in bulk is pricey and ideally it should be kept cold. For small producers, those are bigger problems, Murphy said. However, the plan could create opportunities for transport companies, said Christine Comeau, executive director of the Canadian Craft Brewers Association. She doubts it will move the needle if costs stay high. 'I don't think that it's going to be a huge kind of market opportunity for us,' she added. Comeau said Canadian craft brewers are already struggling with higher import volumes, tariffs and rising costs for cans, cardboard and transport. 'Any kind of break or opportunity that they can have to have increased market access or reduced markups is something that we're in favour of.' Even if freight issues are solved, each province still follows its own tax rules. Regulatory boards tend to protect and favour local businesses, Murphy said. 'If you are in New Brunswick and you're looking to sell alcohol, they're more likely to create advantageous taxation structures for local producers,' Murphy said. 'This is a symbolic move in trade more than anything else,' said Frederic Gionet, Atlantic director at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. He added that if red tape can be reduced, Canada could apply the same solutions to other industries, as the country faces a trade war with U.S. President Donald Trump. In an emailed statement to CTV News, P.E.I. Finance Minister Jill Burridge said there are 'many administrative details to work out' and 'a lot of complexities involved in changing regulated spaces,' but she is 'optimistic about meeting the May 2026 deadline.' For now, the beer at Lone Oak stays local as the rules get a sober review.
CBC
15-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
P.E.I. considers updating 'outdated' liquor laws to let minors stay during entertainment
Prince Edward Island's finance minister says it's time to modernize the province's liquor laws. At the P.E.I. legislature on Wednesday, a question came up about the rules around families with young children being present in restaurants that serve liquor when live entertainment begins. "A local brewery was fined and a waitress lost her liquor serving privileges because the entertainment commenced before the family with a minor finished their meal," Liberal MLA Robert Henderson said to Finance Minister Jill Burridge. "Minister, do you think that is fair, and will you change the regulations so that they're the same [as] in every other province, as we're supposed to be doing with our internal trade mechanisms?" Burridge responded: "We are working through modernization of our Liquor Control Act, so that is something we can absolutely take back and bring into consideration when we're going through that review." Local brewery calls for change Though not mentioned by name in the legislature, the restaurant Henderson was describing was Lone Oak Brewing Co., with multiple locations across P.E.I. "There's what we would refer to as an outdated policy within the Liquor Control Commission that changes our licence as an operating restaurant whenever we have live music or trivia," Lone Oak co-owner Jared Murphy told CBC News. "And what happens is that minors are no longer allowed to be present while those events are taking place." Murphy believes these policies were established long ago, when the assumption was that live entertainment and trivia were linked to drinking. "We believe as operators that times have changed. A lot of local breweries now are supporting local artists. They're having live music during brunch. They're having live music in the evening as sort of background music, or, as you know, for our audience to listen to… And the same thing with trivia," he said. "This policy… it's created a bit of friction with consumers, because they don't quite understand why a family can't come in with their children to dine if our kitchen is open, and they're accompanied by a guardian." He added that the brewery had been fined a couple of times for having a minor present during live music or trivia events, resulting in one of their servers having their liquor serving licence revoked. "So not only were we fined for the situation, but our server had to retake their Safe Serve licence in order to be able to work again," he said. Murphy also pointed out that the policy applies all day, even if a live artist is performing during brunch, say at 11 a.m. In that case, a minor is technically not allowed in the establishment. "A change to this policy would be best for the operators, and I believe it would be best for the liquor commission as well, so they don't have to again, enforce something that just — again, doesn't make sense," he said.
