Toronto – December 6th, 2023– Today, 13 leading organized labour organizations representing the brewing sector from the brewery to distribution and retail have joined together in one voice to publish an Open Letter to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Honourable Chrystia Freeland. In the letter, the beer sector unions urge the government to cancel the upcoming automatic 4.7% federal beer tax increase.
The signatories, representing beer workers from coast-to-coast, call for the cancellation of an above-inflation beer tax hike scheduled to take effect on April 1, 2024, to safeguard jobs and their futures.
The call from organized labour adds to similar beer tax relief demands from business and consumer groups, agriculture organizations and the hospitality and tourism sector.
For our part, Beer Canada continues to advocate for fair and responsible beer tax policy and regulation and is asking all levels of government to prioritize price stability for hard-working Canadian families. Inflation-based beer tax increases adds fuel to inflation, puts upward pressure on interest rates and makes the Bank of Canada’s job to bring inflation back to its mid-range target of 2% more difficult.
Beer industry unions note in their letter that working Canadians are struggling with the highest cost of living in decades from food to housing and believe it is inconceivable that the government would consider adding to their economic challenges by another beer tax hike.
Raising beer taxes by nearly 5% when Canada already has the higher beer taxes in the G7 would harm consumers, workers across beer’s added-value supply chain as well as the hospitality and tourism sector.
ABOUT BEER CANADA
Beer Canada is the sole national inclusive voice advocating on behalf of Canadian brewers of all sizes and regions and Canadian beer consumers.
Beer Canada’s member companies brew 90% of all beer consumed by Canadians annually. The production, distribution and sale of beer supports 149,000 Canadian jobs, generates $13.6 billion in Gross Domestic Product and $5.7 billion in government tax revenues.
Beer Canada promotes moderate and responsible consumption by those of the legal age and is the authoritative source for data & information on the Canadian beer industry.
FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES
Karine Cousineau - Vice President, Strategic Communications
Beer Canada
kcousineau@beercanada.com
