A consumer advocacy group is accusing the Ford government of “weaponizing” the LCBO as the premier promises to follow through on a threat to remove Crown Royal from the provincial liquor retailer in February.

Doug Ford confirmed he would pull the Canadian whiskey from the shelves of the province’s alcohol stores next month to punish international drinks conglomerate Diageo for its plan to close an Ontario facility.

He repeated on Monday that “as soon as they close that plant,” he would order the LCBO to remove the whiskey.

Jay Goldberg, with the Consumer Choice Centre, said punishing companies for business decisions would hurt the province in the long run, urging the premier to reconsider.

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“You have to have a strong economic environment that attracts companies to Ontario. You can’t be threatening every company here if they’re thinking of leaving for greener pastures,” he told Global News.

“Fundamentally, I think the premier needs to do some work on making sure Ontario is the best place to invest and have jobs and keep companies and plants here, as opposed to just threatening companies if they want to leave.”

Ford first made the threat to remove Crown Royal over the summer, after Diageo announced its plan to close its Amherstburg, Ont., bottling plant, citing global restructuring rather than tariffs.

It said bottling at the factory intended for the U.S. market will be shifting stateside, while bottling for Canadian consumers will relocate to its Valleyfield, Que., location.

Ford hinted at one point that he may also remove other Diageo products like Smirnoff from the LCBO, but later walked that back.

“The premier’s all show,” Ontario Liberal MPP John Fraser said of the policy. “The reality is this is not going to help the people who are going to be dislocated or laid off from this plant.”

Goldberg said it was an anti-free-market position for the Progressive Conservative premier to take.

“If you’re gonna be a free market conservative, you have to empower consumers and empower individuals to make their own choices in their own lives,” he said.

“And what the government has been doing is essentially embracing big government and making decisions for people.”

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