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LILLEY: Doug Ford government still trying to keep booze price plans secret

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LILLEY: Doug Ford government still trying to keep booze price plans secret

After delays and huge fees, government says it needs more than year to release documents

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The Doug Ford government and Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy continue their quest to keep details of their plan to hike booze prices secret.

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Bethlenfalvy’s Finance Ministry now says it can’t release documents requested on his planned booze hike until the end of this year.

LILLEY: Doug Ford government still trying to keep booze price plans secret Back to video

The documents were requested under the Freedom of Information Act on Nov. 28, 2025, and under the law the government is supposed to respond within 30 days. After already taking several extensions and demanding steep search fees, the ministry sent a letter last week saying it would need until Dec. 28, 2026, to find and process all of the documents.

The ordeal dates back to last October, when the LCBO announced changes to its wholesale pricing system. When the premier announced the speeding up of beer and wine into convenience stores, big box retailers and more grocery stores back in May 2024, he also promised a simpler, fairer system.

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“The government will also conduct a broader review of taxes and fees on beer, wine and alcoholic beverages with the aim of promoting a fairer and more competitive marketplace for Ontario-based products and consumers,” the news release from Ford’s office said at the time.

Bethlenfalvy pushed for higher prices

The changes announced by the LCBO in October were supposed to be that simpler and fairer system, but industry players from wineries to distillers, brewers to bar and restaurant owners revolted. They argued that the changes, which were slated to come into effect on Jan. 1, would increase the cost of a case of beer at your local convenience store by more than $5 and hiked the price of a pint of beer at your local pub by 25 cents for standard beer and 30 cents for a pint for craft offerings.

The price on spirits would have increased by at least 4%, according to industry sources, and a splash of wine would also cost a splash more.

Last November, the Ford government pressed pause on its plans and promised greater consultation with the impacted industry players. Those consultations resulted in a different plan to take effect on April 1 and for the most part, those industry players are happier with the government backing off on its plans to force price hikes through policy changes.

Minister ducking accountability

Bethlenfalvy has denied his plans would have driven up costs, even appearing on Newstalk 1010 and describing my reporting on a letter that he had written detailing the price hikes as “misleading” and “100% wrong.” The letter he sent to LCBO board chair Carmine Nigro last October clearly laid out in precise detail how prices would increase.

The minister got caught, he tried to deny the meaning of the words and numbers that were in the letter he wrote and now he and his ministry are trying to avoid accountability.

Attempts to find out more from the government through freedom of information have been thwarted by delays, high search fees and obfuscation. The request that has now been put off until December, 13 months after it was submitted, was straightforward.

“Provide copies of any draft and final documents from the Ministry of Finance related to the wholesale liquor pricing model that shows any analysis on prices and any impact,” the request said.

Simple questions but no easy answers

In early December, the ministry reached out seeking clarification on what was being sought in the FOI request. In early January, officials reached out again asking if we wanted a lot of documents or fewer documents.

They also asked for $420 in search fees to sort through what they claimed would be 5,000 pages of correspondence. They estimated the search would take four hours to complete and 10 hours to process the material.

Then weeks after they were legally required to provide an answer, Bethlenfalvy’s ministry announced it would take many months more to answer.

“We wish to advise you that the time has been extended in accordance with section 27(1)(a) & (b) of the act for an additional 300 days to Dec. 28, 2026,” the letter said.

According to multiple sources, the LCBO presented Bethlenfalvy with two options last year to simplify the pricing structure used by the government liquor monopoly. The minister didn’t like either of them and asked for a third model that would see prices hiked for bars, restaurants and convenience stores.

It’s that model that the industry revolted over and that model that Bethlenfalvy and his ministry are trying to keep secret now.

If sunlight is the best disinfectant, it’s time to open some windows at Queen’s Park.

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