Page A14 in today's Globe and Mail has a story entitled, "Quebec set to probe alleged price-fixing of liquor". You can get the details from the article but in effect the allegations relate to the Quebec provincial liquor monopoly - Société Des Alcools du Québec (SAQ) encouraging European suppliers to jack up their wholesale prices to offset changes in currency values thereby protecting the SAQ's "profits" (SAQ's retail mark-ups are levied as percentage of wholesale price - the higher the wholesale price the higher the markups). As the article says this, "...artificially increased prices of imported European wines that allowed the government to pocket huge profits".

Now some cynics would argue that the SAQ's motivation for doing this is driven by a system of, "...bonuses and special deals awarded to senior executives and board members" for maximizing "profits". Others might argue that liquor board revenue maximization is aimed at staving off privatization. I disagree with both views. Rather I tend to agree with the LCBO's lobbyists (yes, crown corporations do require their own lobbyists) who assert that the motivation is borne of altruism - that is, liquor boards seek to maximize revenues with the hope of funding hospitals, MRI's and better public services in general.

And it is for this reason that I do not support a deposit-refund system for SAQ or LCBO containers. Should these agencies pick up the environmental and financial responsibilities for their packaging it could mean longer wait times in emergency rooms and perhaps even an outbreak of avian flu. In this regard it is only reasonable to support both the landfill of wine and spirits containers and liquor board price fixing as necessary means to better funded public services.

And it is not like the SAQ isn't doing its part for the environment. As of Februray 25th 2006 the SAQ will be offering reusable bags. To quote the SAQ's website,

Entirely made of cotton, this bag is designed with dividing panels to stop the bottles from colliding with one another, allowing you to safely carry up to six 750 ml bottles!

As of February 27, the bag will be sold for $2.25 and with every sale, $0.50 will be donated to the Biodiversity and Wildlife Habitat Fund, created by the Fondation de la faune du Québec in order to ensure the protection of endangered species in Quebec.

So get your sac réutilisable from the SAQ and fill it with all the foutaise you can handle.