Editor:
Re: B.C. budget and privatization of liquor distribution
The decision by B.C. Liberals to completely privatize liquor distribution demonstrates once again that this government values commercial interests above public health concerns.
Six years after a rash of new private liquor stores were authorized by the government in 2002, the provincial health officer reported higher alcohol consumption and binge drinking among youth across B.C.
When the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch totally disappears, its profits (currently projected at over $900 million per year) will then accrue to the private sector, alcohol will be more widely available and more aggressively marketed, and the increased social costs of alcohol abuse will fall to the public health system.
Privatize the profits and socialize the costs — this is the enduring legacy of the B.C. Libs.
Larry Kazdan, Vancouver