Newfoundland and Labrador is the only province not participating in a national deal to allow alcohol to flow more freely across the country — and the unions representing workers at two St. John’s breweries say protecting jobs needs to be the priority.
The Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees (NAPE) represents about 60 employees at the Labatt-owned brewery in St. John’s. NAPE president Jerry Earle says he’s worried that reducing interprovincial trade rules could mean Labatt and Molson Coors would close their breweries in the city.
“They can probably reduce their production cost, throw Newfoundlanders and Labradorians out of work, produce beer in southern Ontario and ship it in on a container vessel or on a truck. Sure, they would love it,” Earle said in an interview with CBC Radio’s The St. John’s Morning Show.
Last week, Finance Minister Siobhan Coady told reporters that the provincial government is monitoring the deal between the other provinces, and trying to avoid any “unintended consequences” for Newfoundland and Labrador employees. She specifically referenced the breweries owned by Molson Coors and Labatt.
The Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation (NLC) requires beer sold in convenience stores to be brewed within the province — meaning Labatt and Molson Coors have access to that market as long as their breweries stay open.
Earle and James Farrell, industrial director at FFAW-Unifor, which represents over 50 employees at the Molson Coors brewery in St. John’s, are concerned about the potential elimination of that rule — and the resulting fallout.
Farrell says he’s worried that reducing barriers could mean the local market would become flooded with beer brewed outside the province, and Molson Coors, a multinational company, would no longer have a strong incentive to operate a plant within the province
“It’d be detrimental, disastrous, to the local brewing industry in the province,” he said.
Brewery closures ‘not on the table,’ says Beer Canada
CBC News asked both Labatt and Molson Coors for comment.
Labatt has not responded, but Molson Coors referred the request to Beer Canada, a lobbying firm representing some of the biggest breweries across the country — including Molson Coors and Labatt. The organization also represents Quidi Vidi Brewery.
CJ Hélie, president of the trade association Beer Canada, says companies are always looking at ways to run more efficiently, but the current discussion around interprovincial trade does not include closing plants in Newfoundland and Labrador.
“That’s not on the table at the moment,” he said. “What they’re really talking about is this very limited direct-to-consumer opportunity.”
Direct-to-consumer sales would allow consumers in one province to buy alcohol directly from a producer in another province.
Peter Madden, co-owner of Wooden Walls Distilling in St. John’s, says he’d welcome changes that would make it easier for his business to enter new markets.
“That would probably be the best outcome, right? That we do remove all interprovincial trade barriers, but we sort of continue with this momentum we have of, like, supporting local and supporting Canadian sort of secondarily,” he said.
In a statement, NLC spokesperson Tara Haley said the company is monitoring plans in other provinces for direct-to-consumer alcohol sales.
Meanwhile, she said the sale of products within Newfoundland and Labrador — including in convenience stores — is part of a bigger discussion.
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