(Toronto) Liquor companies in several provinces, including Quebec and Ontario, decided Friday to remove Russian products from their shelves in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Updated Feb 25
In Ontario, Finance Minister Peter Bethlinvalvi said he was ordering Licor Ontario (LCBO) to remove products made in Russia.
“Ontario joins Canada’s allies in condemning the Russian government’s aggressive action against the Ukrainian people, and we strongly support the federal government’s efforts to punish the Russian government,” Bethlinvalvi said Friday in an emailed statement.
“We will continue to be there for the people of Ukraine during this very difficult time,” he added.
A Bethlenfalvy spokeswoman said LCBO was selling about 25 Russian-made products and said the government had been told stores could take them down within 24 hours.
In Quebec, SAQ indicated by email to The Canadian Press that it was withdrawing “at the request of the Government of Quebec, as soon as possible, the 10 products from Russia that are currently available to us”.
A short while ago, the Finance Minister, Eric Girard, noted on Twitter that he had “asked SAQ to withdraw all products that come from Russia.” […] Solidarity with the Ukrainian people.
Liquor companies in other counties made similar decisions throughout the day.
A spokeswoman for Nova Scotia Liquor (NSLC) said it decided to remove products made in Russia “in light of the horrific events unfolding” in Ukraine.
Beverley Ware said the stores carry three products from the Russian Standard range.
“Products have been removed today and we have also removed them from our website. We are also notifying agency store operators so that they can also remove this product from their shelves.”
Liquor stores in New Brunswick followed the same process. A spokeswoman said the Alcoholic Beverage Sale Board (ANBL) was “voluntarily withdrawing” products from Russia in response to the situation.
“We are currently reviewing our portfolio and contacting our in-store teams to ensure that all related products have been removed,” said Marie-Andrée Bolduc.
The Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Company (NLC) wrote on Twitter that it had decided to remove “products of Russian origin” from stores, including Standard Russian Vodka and Platinum Standard Russian Vodka.
Manitoba Licor Mart made a similar statement.
“Out of the thousands of products we sold, only two were from Russia – Vodka, Standard Russian Vodka, and single-serve beer, Baltika 7 Premium Lager. We have removed these two products from the shelves of all Manitoba liquor stores,” he wrote on his Twitter account.
