'People are going to be shocked': NSLC hikes prices on beer, wine and spirits
Regular shoppers at Nova Scotia liquor stores faced significant price hikes Monday on beer, wine and spirits.
Retiree John McCracken was picking up his usual bottle of wine when he spoke to CTV News outside the NSLC store on Joseph Howe Drive in Halifax.
"I bought last week, the same bottle was $2 less,” said McCracken. “We're talking like $15, $16 bottle of wine. So not high-end wine.”
"If you go into that liquor store right now, people are going to be shocked."
Workers were replacing pricing signs in all stores on Monday, but officials insist the overall increase only amounts to about 3 per cent.
"It has to do with overall costs to our supplier community. So that could be anything from freight, transportation, commodities costs, things like glass or aluminum, or other commodities like barley -- all of those things are seeing an increase in price, and that's what factoring in to the overall price increase," said Allison Himmelman, a spokesperson for the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC).
She says the increase is below the cost of inflation.
Last month, the corporation reported a healthy earnings increase of 6.6 per cent.
On April 1, federal excise taxes are set to increase another 6.3 per cent -- the biggest increase in 40 years.
"The excise tax is actually just one factor that goes into our overall prices here at the NSLC," said Himmelman.
“And it's actually a very small factor because not all suppliers choose to pass on that excise tax to their retail product prices."
Still, some local bars and restaurants say the hikes will have to be passed on to customers, which will hurt business.
"There's no doubt, yeah, we can't absorb it," said Dimo Georgakakos, owner of the iconic Gus' Pub & Grill in Halifax's north end.
"We've been absorbing so many things, and in the bar business we're a stoic bunch, and we just sort of put our heads down and keep doing it. And now, they just sort of do that and we've got to pass it on and it's going to make customers come here less," said Georgakakos, son of the bar's founder.
He and others are still recovering from lost business in the pandemic, and worry many customers have gotten used to staying home.
"In general, things are not going to get back to the way they were," said Georgakakos. "It's going to be different."
NSLC notes that increased revenue from price adjustments is also shared with producers, including Nova Scotia wineries, brewers and distillers.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Rainfall warnings of up to 80 mm among weather alerts in effect for 6 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres and other alerts have been issued for six Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
Bus plunges off a bridge in South Africa, killing 45 people. An 8-year-old child is only survivor
A bus carrying worshippers headed to an Easter festival plunged off a bridge on a mountain pass and burst into flames in South Africa on Thursday, killing at least 45 people, authorities said.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Calgary police shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers dealt with a distraught individual. The incident lasted almost 20 hours.