 The below is something I wrote for a new website I started : LCBO Watch. Please sign up over there if you are interested in seeing reform at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario.
In the spring of 2006, the LCBO started building a new store in the Westboro neighbourhood of Ottawa, next to the Superstore. As construction progressed, residents in nearby Hintonburg began asking questions about their own local LCBO, and they didn't like the answers they were getting - their store would be closing. The community association launched a letter-writing campaign, but in spite of their best efforts, the LCBO officials decided that the Hintonburg LCBO would be closing.
Alcohol regulations have been an issue for me for some time now. I run a popular website about brewing and enjoying beer, and have long since had opinions on matters around alcohol regulations. I've felt for years that we are in need of change in this province, and this issue of the Hintonburg LCBO was the straw that broke the camel's back, since I live in Hintonburg. Ironically, since I brew the vast majority of what I drink, the decision to close the local LCBO has very little affect on me personally. But I do recognise that it is an important cornerstone of this community, and it's closure will have a significant negative impact on this community which I so dearly love.
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