Quebec plans to put an end to stamps for microbrewery beers

Microbreweries in Quebec will no longer be required to put stamps on their products. (Avant-Garde / Facebook)

The Quebec government wants to put an end to the stamping of microbrewery beers. This is a measure that small hop producers have long been calling for.

According to the microbreweries, the obligation to affix stamps to their cans and glass bottles is both unnecessary and time-consuming.

Quebec microbreweries association managing director Marie-Eve Myrand was jubilant after the minister presented his bill.

“We're really pleased with this abolition, which we've been calling for for several years. You can't minimise the impact on SMEs of having to manage a marking system like this,” she told The Canadian Press in an interview at the National Assembly on Wednesday.

Archaic

Since 1971, the law has required a duty stamp to be affixed to all beer sold in restaurants and bars. The original aim was to prevent smuggling and tax evasion.

“There have been a lot of changes in pricing, and the harmonization of prices meant that the stamp was becoming a bit archaic. Imagine an entrepreneur with three or four employees who has to devote a full-time job to affixing stickers to a container that, basically, no longer makes any sense in terms of taxation,” said Economy Minister Christopher Skeete, who is behind the bill to put an end to this measure.

Some microbreweries have recently been visited by police officers who have come to check that the labelling on the stamps complies with the law. Microbreweries that contravene the current law face fines of between $500 and $7,500. The minister was at pains to reassure, saying that a fined business could be forgiven.

“The police will have to analyze the appropriateness of proceeding, given the legislative changes,” he said.

Only microbreweries will be exempt from stamping under the government's new legislation. Big producers like Labatt and Molson will have to continue putting stamps on their cans and bottles.

Subcontracted delivery

The government also wants to allow small beer producers to subcontract their alcohol deliveries.

At the moment, it is necessary for each microbrewery to have its own delivery driver. The legislative change will allow several companies in the same region, for example, to use a single subcontractor to deliver all their products.

In addition to the measures for microbreweries, Minister Skeete's bill proposes a whole raft of measures to remove red tape from the shoulders of Quebec businesses.

“There are around thirty measures. The impact is estimated at $20 million (...) So it's really positive,” said François Vincent, Canadian Federation of Independent Business Quebec vice-president.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Dec. 4, 2024.