Canada: A battle is brewing over calls for beer prices to be fixed

A battle is brewing on the Prairies over calls for a minimum price for beer, The Canadian Press reported March 25.

Greg D'Avignon of Canada's National Brewers says neither Manitoba nor Alberta have a "social reference price'' for wine, spirits and beer. He says U.S.-based Minhas Creek set the stage for increased drinking when it burst onto the Manitoba scene in 2004 and undercut the competition by $3 on six-packs of cans.

Manjit Minhas says minimum prices are contrary to the free enterprise system.

26 March, 2008