High alcohol flavoured beverages: Possible upcoming container restrictions

Please note that the Government of Canada intends to prohibit the sale of certain high alcohol flavoured beverages deemed appealing to youth.

• What’s Affected: Flavoured purified alcoholic beverages that are high in alcohol and sold in large, single-serve containers. Alcohol content in these beverages would be restricted to 1.5 standard drinks when in containers of 1000 mL or less.
• What’s Not Affected: Beer, wine, spirits and spirit-based drinks (vodka-based, etc.).
• When: Government is aiming for late May with no grace period.
• Why: This follows an incident in Quebec in March of last year where these products were implicated in the death of a 14-year old girl.

Next Steps:

RCC will be signalling its concerns in writing and in person regarding the lack of consultation and grace period.  We will update you further on this matter if there are any new developments.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact: Jason McLinton, Vice President, Grocery Division and Regulatory Affairs at: jmclinton@retailcouncil.org or 613-656-7903