Organization and Mandate
The AGLC consists of a Board and a Corporation. The Corporation acts as the operational arm of the organization, while the Board is responsible for reflecting the government's direction through policy and regulatory matters.
Although liquor is retailed in Alberta by private interests on a competitive basis, like its predecessor the AGLC has maintained a monopoly over the wholesaling of wine, coolers, imported beer and spirits. The AGLC is the wholesale-level purchaser of these products and thus Albertan liquor taxes (which are still high compared to taxes in the U.S.) are termed as the liquor markup. The wholesaling operation itself is mostly handled by Connect Logistics, a contract distributor based in St. Albert. Maintaining a monopoly over the wholesale business allows the AGLC to maintain tighter controls over liquor distribution than an entirely privatized system would allow. In particular it allows the Government of Alberta to ensure that it does not miss out on any "markup" (the bulk of the liquor tax in any Canadian province, including Alberta is the provincial liquor markup).
Between 1999 and 2006 the AGLC operated as part of the Ministry of Gaming. When Ed Stelmach became Premier he restructured government so there were fewer ministries and ministers. The Ministry of Gaming was abolished following December 2006's reorganization and the AGLC was assigned to "report through" the Alberta Solicitor General.
Read more about this topic: Alberta Gaming And Liquor Commission
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