Microbreweries denounce a “witch hunt”

The Association of Microbrasseries of Quebec (ABNQ) deplores that some of its members have experienced “police relentlessness” in the last week regarding the application of a regulation that it considers archaic. The regulation in question, the application of the duty stamp, is even supposed to be abolished since 2020.

We are misusing resources, there is really a witch hunt with no gain for the governmentdenounces Marie-Ève ​​Myrand, general director of the AMBQ. Without commenting further, the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux confirms that seizures have taken place.

According to the association, in recent days, police officers have carried out multiple verification operations across the province with retailers to see if the beers had been correctly stamped or not depending on the type of business. The duty stamp must only be found on alcoholic products intended for sale in bars and restaurants.

La Barberie, a microbrewery in the Saint-Roch district of Quebec, is one of those that was affected. It was really a lot of crisis management. We received notices from our retailers, but also from bars and restaurants, who informed us that police squads were arriving to come and hunt for the stamp.relates Valérie Lapointe, the sales and marketing director at La Barberie.

She gives the example of a pub in Montreal which had an unlabeled crate confiscated and which contacted her telling her that it would receive a hefty fine. In the event of non-compliance, microbreweries face fines ranging from $500 to $7,500.

It is not so much in relation to the nature of the police interventions, but more in the relentlessness of SMEs which pay their taxes and for which the only crime is to market by human error products which are intended for a other distribution channelremarks the director of the AMBQ.

The introduction of the stamp dates back to the 1970s to differentiate products sold for consumption on site, obtained directly from the brewer, from those for consumption at home, as the level of taxation was not the same. However, since 2014, taxes on alcohol have been harmonized.

It’s been ten years since this little stamp no longer had any fiscal use. For us it is really a significant operational irritantunderlines Marie-Ève ​​Myrand. What we are experiencing at the moment is yet another situation to show that it is high time for the stamp to be abolished for microbreweries.

At the time of publication, the Sûreté du Québec was not able to offer any response.

A postponed abolition

In 2018, Bill 170 (New window) aimed at make life easier for people and liquor license holders provided, among other things, for the abolition of the stamping system two years after the adoption of the bill. In anticipation of this abolition, the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux was mandated to review the processes for controlling alcoholic beverages in collaboration with its partners.we can read in a press release from the Couillard government, in June 2018.

However, abolition has continued to be postponed and six years later, it is still pending.

The government backed down before these provisions of the bill came into force. There, what we are asking the government is to break it up in a different wayargues Marie-Ève ​​Myrand, referring to a potential exclusion specifically for microbreweries.

At the beginning of the year, the AMBQ, which has more than 200 members across the province, launched the campaign Stamping is stamping! to bring forward the abolition of the stamp.

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Neither the Ministry of Economy nor the Ministry of Public Security wanted to comment. The same goes for the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux.

However, the communication channels would be open between the different stakeholders according to Ms. Myrand. There is a dialogue with the Ministry of the Economy and Public Security. All these elements are clearly under discussion at the moment, but time is running out and what we are experiencing this week is clearly abuse.argues the director of the AMBQ.

Those in favor of the stamp

In May, the Association of Police Directors of Quebec (ADPQ) adopted a resolution in favor of maintaining the beer marking system, arguing that it makes it possible to better fight organized crime and tax evasion while offering guarantees for product safety.

For a long time, representatives of licensed establishments and microbreweries, which constitute only 10% of the industry, have highlighted the economic advantages of this abolition. However, these arguments overlook the potential negative repercussionsspecified in a press release Pierre Brochet, president of the ADPQ.

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The missive was notably supported by the Association des brasseurs du Québec (ABQ), which represents, for its part, the province’s three major breweries: Molson Coors, Labatt and Sleeman. This debate has been going on for 10-15 years in Quebec, we are not opposed to the abolition of the stamp, but we want to maintain a certain markingunderlines Philippe Roy, the general director of the ABQ.

For them, it is more and more common to abandon the paper stamp and write the code directly on the can. A technique which offers less flexibility on the destination of the products, according to the association of microbreweries, but which works well on large volumes.

We also represent microbreweries which still use the stamp. We know that they find it very heavy, but on the one hand they understand that it is the law and that there are positive points in keeping the current systemnevertheless nuance Philippe Roy.

His association is particularly concerned about the possibility of opening the door to restaurateurs and bar owners using channels other than the brewer to obtain their alcoholic products. The government needs to come up with another way of marking, otherwise how are we going to validate that the Cage aux sports or that the bar on the corner of your street really went to get its beer at Costcohe worries.

The ABQ does not feel much listening from the government on this issue. We have the impression that he talks a lot to microbreweries and that he is pushing an issue, while the majority of the industry is not in favorsupports the general director.

We can find solutions, but for that we have to sit down together and consider them together and we don’t feel included in the debate.pleads Philippe Roy.

With information from Rosalie Sinclair and Marie-Ève ​​Trudel