BC NDP

Liberal Leader's calculation of effect of NDP tax-break rollback on liquor doesn't withstand scrutiny

By Robert Matas, Globe and Mail

"I can tell you this. I am not drinking beer, but if they put a $3 cost on a six pack of Diet Coke, I'd be mighty upset," B.C. Liberal leader Gordon Campbell said yesterday in an attack on NDP policy that, Liberals say, would increase the price of a six-pack of beer by $3.

Liberal Leader Gordon Campbell had three martinis and two or three glasses of wine before getting behind the wheel of his rented SUV in Hawaii and driving erratically at more than 110 kilometres an hour in a 70 kilometre per hour zone. His conviction for drunk driving in 2003, with a blood-alcohol reading nearly twice the legal limit, has cast a shadow over every subsequent initiative by the B.C. government related to liquor.

Yesterday, Mr. Campbell felt he had to remind voters that he has switched to Diet Coke before he went on to criticize NDP policies that could increase the price of beer. But he failed to remind voters about government policies on beer prices. Rather, he attacked NDP policy without solid research to back up his statements.

The NDP has proposed to eliminate a tax break to private liquor store owners in urban centres that was introduced during Mr. Campbell's first year as Premier. The tax break meant independent retailers could buy beer, wine and liquor from the government-run liquor distribution branch at 10 per cent below the retail price at the province's liquor stores. The Liberal government provided the tax break to help private liquor stores compete with the government-run stores.