CICC is shocked that yet again the BC governments’s 2025 budget does nothing to stem the flow of contraband tobacco which is fueling organized crime.
“There is an incalculable level of economic uncertainty right now and the Budget 2025 forecasts a $10.9 billion deficit. It is perplexing then that the government continues to leave money on the table by not addressing contraband tobacco. Revenue that could be reducing the massive deficit is instead going into the pockets of illegal traffickers. Yet, the provincial government has yet to announce measures to crack down on this issue,” noted Sara MacIntyre, CICC’s Vice-President for Western Canada.
According to the government’s own data, tobacco tax revenue has dropped from $781 million in 2018 to just $450 million forecast for this year (details here). Unfortunately, that decline is not due to decreased consumption rates, but rather increased illegal sales. The rise in contraband tobacco also fuels organized crime and threatens public safety.
“We were hoping to see the BC government adopt a contraband plan similar to the one announced in Alberta’s Budget last week. These measures like increased enforcement, fines and administrative penalties will effectively reduce the size of the illegal market, improve community safety and government revenues,” MacIntyre continued.
“There was some welcome news for convenience store retailers in this Budget with the new $67 million for the Community Safety and Targeted Enforcement Program pilot that will focus on shoplifting, theft and property crimes. Retail safety, especially employee safety has become an ongoing and daily challenge for stores in British Columbia.”“We will continue to meet and work with officials on our industry’s number issue: contraband tobacco. We know there are solutions that are effective and will ultimately result in higher tobacco tax revenue for the provincial government,” concluded MacIntyre.
The CICC published study prepared by EY Canada in 2023 that highlights extraordinary growth in the contraband tobacco market in Canada, and particularly in British Columbia.
“The profits of contraband tobacco fund other more dangerous crimes, as evidenced in the latest and biggest bust by the CFSEU that included guns, drugs, boats and cars worth more than $11 million.” The EY Report findings can be found here.
The CICC is a national, not-for-profit association uniting retailers, manufacturers and distributors in the convenience industry who employ more than 200,000 Canadians and sell more than $53 billion annually in goods and services. In British Columbia, the CICC represents more than 2,200 stores, collects $1.4 billion in provincial taxations and directly employs more than 19,000 British Columbians and thousands more indirectly.