A Beer In Every Hand and A Chicken In Every Pot

Kegger at Tim Hudak's house!

After Ontario Conservative leader Tim Hudak caused a brouhaha (brewhaha?) by insinuating he might lower the cost of a 24-pack of beer to $24 if he were elected, the Globe and Mail’s Michael Babad says Hudak should get serious. The Tory leader “would face far, far greater challenges” than beer prices if he were elected, such as the province’s rising unemployment rate. In other words, only ever talk about the most important things ever, please.

Sun Media’s Christina Blizzard and the Toronto Star editorial board say that with an election looming in October, Hudak should be concerned about his communications strategy. As it stands, Ontario voters know little else about his platform other than how much he thinks it should cost to get loaded, while on the important issues like health taxes he’s flip-flopped, first hinting he wouldn’t cut them, then saying he might.

The buck-a-beer debate prompts the National Post’s Kelly McParland to ask, “Is it possible to argue that Ontarians are not grossly overgoverned when one of the powers of the premier is to set the price of beer?” The answer is yes, it is possible to argue that. We in the Newsroom can think of several justifiable reasons for the government to be able to control the price of alcohol, as well as all the other factors that govern its consumption. McParland actually doesn’t buy that Dalton McGuinty’s reason for raising the price of beer above $1 was to curb drinking, and says it was a ploy to protect foreign beer companies from local competitors offering cheap suds. That McParland would have a problem with using government controls to cater to foreign corporations is puzzling, considering he advocates lowering corporate taxes to attract foreign investment.

The Post’s Tasha Kheiriddin suggests several more pressing, but still beer-related, issues Hudak should tackle if elected. She recommends eliminating the needless ban on allowing convenience stores to sell beer, privatizing the provincial liquor store, and lowering the cost of all alcohol, not just beer. Sounds good to us! Next, get working on a way to hook a keg directly to our veins.