Ontario Finance Minister Greg Sorbara reported that the Liquor Control Board of Ontario may see its monopoly ended and that could mean pints available at the local depanneur.

The full Toronto Star (actually, CP) story is available here.

Personally, I hope this comes to fruition.

In Alberta and Saskatchewan, hotels were allowed to make "off-sales" -- beer that was purchased there and removed for consumption somewhere elses.

But in this goofy province, it's either the beer store or an LCBO -- most of which are closed by 10 p.m.

It encourages people to go out to drink, and if you don't live in a neighborhood that has pubs within walking distance, that means driving.

For those who fret about the impact of more freely available alcohol on society, please show me some statistics that compare drinking and driving in Quebec and Ontario.

Montreal doesn't seem to be much less civilized than Toronto for having beer and wine in its corner stores. Quite the contrary.