Ottawa to hike cost of a brewski

Brewers want you to know the cold, hard truth about the price of your cold ones.

The federal government is set to increase the tax on local and imported beer by about 2 per cent starting this April. The increase will roll over every year in line with inflation — which has the brewing community up in arms.

“Obviously this is troubling because it’s going to automatically increase prices for our customers, who are already paying a 47-per-cent tax rate on average across the country,” said Luke Harford, president of Beer Canada, the trade association advocating for the brewers.

Beer Canada has launched a national campaign to get the government to scrap this tax increase. Axe the Beer Tax asks the public to sign a petition and write to their MPs voicing concerns.