liquor control board of ontario type crown corporation industry retail department & discount founded 1927 headquarters toronto ontario canada number of locations 651 stores 2014 15 1 key people edward j. waitzer chair of the board of directors 2 products liquor sales and distribution to both consumers and businesses revenue 5.214 billion cad 2014 15 1 net income 1.818 billion cad 2014 15 1 number of employees 3 680 full time as of may 2012 3 website lcbo.ca the liquor control board of ontario lcbo is a crown corporation that retails and distributes alcoholic beverages throughout the province of ontario canada . 4 it is accountable to the ontario ministry of finance . 4 it was established in 1927 on the advice of ontario premier howard ferguson to sell liquor wine and beer . 5 such sales had been banned outright in 1916 ; 6 thus the creation of the lcbo marked an easing of the province s temperance regime see prohibition in canada . the lcbo maintains a quasi monopoly 7 on alcoholic beverage sales in ontario canada s most populous province with over 13 million people or almost 40 % of the nation s population and as a result is one of the world s largest purchasers of alcoholic beverages . 8 lcbo stores are the only retail outlets licensed to sell alcohol in ontario with a few notable exceptions beer is also sold by the beer store which has a monopoly on retailing 12 and 24 bottle cases of beer 7 and a number of local wine beer and alcohol producers are licensed to sell their own brands outside the purview of lcbo stores . many of these outlets are located at the wineries breweries or distilleries themselves ; others are located within grocery stores . 9 the lcbo has plans to also open its own outlets within some grocery stores . 10 the lcbo is also the chief supplier of alcoholic beverages to bars and restaurants in ontario which are generally required by law to purchase their alcoholic products through the lcbo the beer store or directly from ontario wineries and breweries . beverages sold at bars and restaurants must be consumed on the establishments premises . as of july 11 2016 lcbo accepts apple pay in each of their 651 stores in the province allowing contactless payment for all purchases of liquor . 11 contents 1 history 2 mandate and accountability 3 signage 4 pricing 5 profits 6 debate over privatization 7 recycling program 8 lcbo agencies 9 controversies 9.1 cellared in canada 9.2 age verification 10 see also 11 references 12 external links history edit logo used until 2014 . the lcbo was created in 1927 with the end of prohibition which had been introduced in the province in 1916 . the liquor control act 1927 authorized the lcbo to control the sale transportation and delivery of alcoholic beverages in ontario . 12 brewers retail was created to sell beer in a controlled manner while wines and spirits as well as beer were sold in lcbo outlets . wineries and breweries were also allowed to sell from their own stores which were limited in number . in the 1924 ontario prohibition plebiscite ontarians voted narrowly by a margin of 51.5 % to 48.5 % to retain the ontario temperance act as opposed to the government controlled sales of beverage alcohol . 13 the conservative government of howard ferguson contested the 1926 provincial election on a platform of easing the temperance law . on being re elected it introduced the liquor control act as a compromise between the complete prohibition demanded by the temperance movement and the unregulated sale of alcohol . premier ferguson stated that the liquor control act was ... to allow people to exercise a god given freedom under reasonable restrictions . ferguson was further quoted as saying the purpose of the lcbo was to promote temperance sobriety personal liberty and above all to restore respect for the law . 14 to achieve these goals lcbo was mandated by ferguson s government to employ an oversight mechanism in order to know exactly who is buying and how much and what disposition is being made of it . 15 from 1927 1962 the lcbo required people who wanted to purchase liquor to possess a permit . they had to present these permits at the point of purchase and the clerk at the liquor store would enter information about what precisely the individual purchased . 16 residents applied for and received individually numbered 5 digits liquor permits . a temporary permit was a single sheet form with 6 digit number with effective and expiry dates . this was issued until the yearly permit form was received . it was also provided to non resident visitors . between 1927 and 1957 these permits came in the form of passport sized books that consisted of two separate sections the first which included the permit holder s personal information place of residence marital status occupation employer notes change of address and a second section which kept a record of the individual s purchase history date quantity value store number and initials . 17 in 1957 permit books were replaced with permit cards . these cards held the permit holder s name and their permit number and also were needed in order to purchase liquor at the lcbo . 18 when an individual wanted to make a purchase at an lcbo store he or she had to fill in a purchase order form that included their name address and permit number as well as the kind and volume of liquor that they wished to purchase . 19 the purchase order form would be handed to an lcbo employee along with the individual s liquor permit and he would examine the permit and see to what extent the purchaser has been buying liquor . if purchaser has exceeded a reasonable quantity per week note permit number and address and refer to vendor . 20 under the liquor control act the lcbo was to promote temperance through facilitating education and moderation . 21 this meant a store employee could deny a sale to a customer if his intended purchases may be considered too large for one person to reasonably consume . 22 purchase order forms were also used by the lcbo as a means of tracking irregularities in liquor purchases and sales and had to be stamped by the employee who had approved the sale and had filled the order . after the liquor permits books were phased out in 1957 purchase order forms were used as a means of establishing individual s purchase histories in cases legal investigations and the lcbo s own control processes . 23 purchase order forms remained in use into the 1970s when the lcbo changed to a self serve format . to control what it considered to be excessive purchases or other abuses of the permit privilege the lcbo employed the use of a list called the interdiction list . although interdiction was initially a formalized legal process imposed by a judge upon those found in open court to be drunkards the board was charged with maintaining the list between 1927 and 1975 and employed its own standards in adding individuals to this list without any involvement of the justice system . 24 25 the list was circulated to all liquor stores and drinking establishments and was sent to local and provincial police forces to whom it was explained that it was a crime for listed individuals to possess or be sold any liquor . between 1927 and 1975 the lcbo conducted its own investigations into over consumption employing a staff of investigators that visited individual s homes work banks neighbors and even churches to determine if an individual should be restricted from purchasing liquor . 26 from 1927 1935 the lcbo own investigations resulted in the cancellation of over 33 138 liquor permits and the names of these individuals were added to the circulated interdiction list . 27 in 1929 the lcbo s use of the interdiction list was expanded to include those on social assistance as well as others whom the board felt should be prohibited from purchasing liquor permits entirely . between 1929 and 1951 when the lcbo ceased publishing interdiction data in its annual reports 125 218 individuals had been added to the interdiction list in this way . 28 in 1934 the mandate of the lcbo was expanded to include the oversight of by the glass sale of alcohol in standard hotels and other drinking establishments . as part of the lcbo s regulations licensed establishments were required to adhere to a wide variety of regulations including a limitation on singing the number of patrons allowed to sit together and most importantly the segregation of female from unmarried male drinkers women were only allowed to drink in the presence of a bona fide escort in a segregated ladies and escorts room . 29 the task of overseeing the sale of alcohol in drinking establishments was later passed in 1944 to a short lived government licensing agency and later to the liquor licensing board of ontario in 1947 . the first self serve store where customers did not have to rely on a clerk to retrieve alcohol was introduced in 1969 . 12 in the 1970s the stores changed to become more inviting with decorative displays of alcohol and in the 2000s many of the stores were renovated and enlarged to provide larger product selection . most current stores have vintages sections with rotating selections of vintage wines and premium spirits . in 1990s the lcbo rebranded stores by removing the ontario coat of arms and wording liquor store with the more stylized lcbo logo . in 2013 executives announced plans to build 34 new retail outlets by 2016 . 30 mandate and accountability edit lcbo in toronto the mandate of the board is to supervise the business affairs of the lcbo . among its responsibilities are ensuring that the lcbo provides high quality service to the public ; developing and approving the strategic plan and monitoring management s success in meeting its business plans ; approving annual financial plans ; ensuring that the organization remains financially sound ; assessing the management of business risks ; submitting an annual financial plan to the minister of finance ; ensuring the organization has communications programs to inform stakeholders of significant business developments ; ensuring that the lcbo performs its regulatory role in a fair and impartial manner . 31 the lcbo is accountable to its stakeholders in a number of ways including its annual report required to be tabled in the provincial legislature and available for all ontarians to review either in print or online at 2 . annual audits of lcbo financial statements by the office of the provincial auditor as well as internal value for money audits of specific lcbo programs including store planning . public access to records under the freedom of information and protection of privacy act . board members appointed by the lieutenant governor through orders in council on the recommendation of the premier and the minister of finance . various statutory reporting requirements under the liquor control act to the minister of finance . compliance with management board s agency accountability directives . 31 the lcbo and the ontario ministry of finance to which it reports have no code of conduct . conspicuously absent from the lcbo s published mandate and accountability guidelines are any mention of clarity in labelling and signage particularly related to contentious issues such as cellared in canada wine . there is also no mention of clarity in labelling on the website of the ontario ministry of consumer services . any mention of fair and responsible treatment of stakeholders such as wine agents wineries and breweries . many of them are small businesses which collectively contribute much to ontario s economy .