Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy says the provincial government is directing the LCBO to withdraw all products produced in Russia from store shelves following Russia’s widely condemned invasion of Ukraine.
"As Premier Ford said yesterday, Ontario joins Canada's allies in condemning the Russian government’s act of aggression against the Ukrainian people and we strongly support the federal government's efforts to sanction the Russian government,” Bethlenfalvy said in a statement Friday afternoon.
“The people of Ontario will always stand against tyranny and oppression. To that end, I am directing the LCBO to withdraw all products produced in Russia from store shelves. We will continue to be there for the Ukrainian people during this extremely difficult time.”
In a statement, the LCBO said it would begin removing all products made in Russia “immediately” from its sales channels, including 679 LCBO stores across the province, its website and LCBO Convenience Outlets.
“The LCBO stands with Ukraine, its people, and the Ukrainian Canadian community here in Ontario,” the statement read.
It said the LCBO would accept returns from wholesale customers, grocery stores and licensees.
The government did not say how much the LCBO’s business with Russia is worth. A search on the LCBO website Friday turned up just nine items listed as coming from Russia.
However the move reflects an appetite for sanctions against the country for an invasion that is being viewed as one of the biggest threats to global security since the Second World War.
The announcement came less than two hours after Ontario Premier Doug Ford said that he would be meeting with some of his senior ministers to discuss a possible ban.
At a news conference earlier in the afternoon, Ford said he is considering dropping Russian products from LCBO shelves, as well as possibly cutting off other trade with Russia, in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine.
“We were discussing this yesterday with the finance minister,” Ford told reporters when asked about the possibility.
He said dropping Russian products from the LCBO would be a “very, very small part” of the measures Ontario is considering and said he would be meeting with Bethlenfalvy and Minister of Trade Vic Fedeli soon to “find out all the trade that we do with Russia.”
Ford said the government will also be coordinating with Federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and other federal counterparts on the matter.
“We're gonna throw everything we have at them,” Ford said.
His comments came after Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca called for the LCBO to drop all Russian alcohol from its shelves, though the premier said he had been considering the move since Thursday.
In a letter sent to LCBO president George Soleas Friday, Del Duca asks that the provincially owned Crown corporation halt all commerce with Russia until Russian troops are withdrawn.
“The LCBO is one of the largest purchasers of alcohol in the world. Imported spirits, including Russian vodka brands, are among your most popular products,” Del Duca wrote. “I urge you to remove all Russian made products from your shelves until this Russian aggression ends.”
Ford said that while the province is exploring curbing trade with Russia, the most pressing issue is providing safe harbour for Ukrainians who need it and said the process to bring them to Canada should be expedited.
“We have a massive Ukrainian population, a massive one, and in Etobicoke, we love. And we're gonna welcome them,” Ford said. “And if we have to send planes over there, we'll send planes over there ourselves to pick people up and bring them back and get them settled.”
On Thursday, all parties rose in the legislature at Queen’s Park to unanimously denounce Russia’s violent invasion of Ukraine.
Ford also spoke, saying that Canada will “never waiver in standing against tyranny,” calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a despot and a thug.
The province said it would provide $300,000 in humanitarian aid for Ukraine, as well as settlement services for those fleeing.
The federal government announced even stronger sanctions against Russia yesterday in the wake of its invasion, which has been condemned by most of the international community. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau conceded that Canada’s trade with Russia is relatively small, but the government said that the collective sanctions imposed by the world will sting.
Still, Del Duca said more should be done locally.
“Ontario and the LCBO can’t say it’s truly standing with Ukraine while continuing to be Putin’s customer,” he wrote to Soleas.
The LCBO has not commented on the letter so far.
