Province to reveal ‘more modern alcohol-delivery’ retail system in proposed legislation

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Manitoba’s Tory government is taking a second shot at expanding retail liquor sales.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/05/2022 (947 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba’s Tory government is taking a second shot at expanding retail liquor sales.

Minister Scott Fielding will introduce Bill 42 (The Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Control Amendment and Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation Amendment Act) on Thursday afternoon.

Fielding, the minister responsible for Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries, said the newly drafted legislation is a continuation of the Progressive Conservatives’ efforts to modernize liquor laws.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES
Minister Scott Fielding, the minister responsible for Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries, said the newly drafted legislation is a continuation of the Progressive Conservatives’ efforts to modernize liquor laws.
RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Minister Scott Fielding, the minister responsible for Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries, said the newly drafted legislation is a continuation of the Progressive Conservatives’ efforts to modernize liquor laws.

However, the new bill will not go as far as its predecessor, Bill 40, which was met with opposition from the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union — which represents Liquor Mart workers — before it was withdrawn by the Tories last October.

Bill 40 would have allowed Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries to sign sales agreements with private retailers in urban areas.

“There is a balancing act. We want to make sure we’re doing it right, and probably more of a gradual approach than we had signalled in the previous bill is probably where we’d be looking to go,” Fielding told reporters during a scrum at the Manitoba Legislative Building Wednesday afternoon.

“The premise really is to provide more convenience for Manitobans,” he said. “We know that Manitobans want a more modern alcohol-delivery system, and so we’ll be introducing legislation that gives exactly that to Manitobans.”

Fielding said his government had consulted with stakeholders prior to introducing Bill 40 in November 2020 and has met with several groups in recent months while drafting an updated bill. The minister said he could not share specifics of the bill before its introduction in the chamber.

And while Liquor Marts are “fabulous” and are valued by Manitobans for their service, selection and location, Fielding said the “status quo” is not good enough and residents want more options.

MGEU president Kyle Ross said the union’s own polling has shown high satisfaction with the current liquor retail landscape, adding liquor sales generated more than $320 million for public services in the last fiscal year.

Ross said the Tories did the right thing by pulling Bill 40 last fall.

“So, it’s very disappointing to hear the government is taking another shot at this,” he said. “In fact, we feel betrayed, because last fall they said they had listened when they pulled Bill 40.”

The union said it was not consulted by the government on the new bill.

Meantime, the Manitoba Hotel Association said adding competition to the market would only hurt its members while they’re recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Current legislation allows only retail beer vendor licences to be issued to hotel operators.

ERIC RISBERG / ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO
Bill 40 would have allowed Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries to sign sales agreements with private retailers in urban areas.
ERIC RISBERG / ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO Bill 40 would have allowed Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries to sign sales agreements with private retailers in urban areas.

“I’m not sure that our model is broken,” association president Scott Jocelyn said. “The landscape of hotels would look significantly different if hotels didn’t have that retail component to their business.”

“If hotels have to compete with grocery stores for retailing, some will figure it out, but a majority of them will not be able to compete.”

Expanding retail alcohol sales also comes with significant safety and security concerns, NDP MLA Adrien Sala said.

“Do families, do communities want their children to be able to go to a 7-Eleven where there’s king cans in the fridge? Those are really important questions that we need to be asking,” said Sala, critic for Crown corporations.

“Is that going to create the risk, the potential for more crime in our local community convenience stores, in our grocery stores? That’s a real concern.”

Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said any expansion of private alcohol sales would amount to a dismantling of the public sector and job losses.

“I don’t see the reason for bringing this forward, especially since this was one of a suite of bad bills that were pulled,” Lamont said. “To bring it back in is a slap in the face to Manitobans.”

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca

Danielle Da Silva

Danielle Da Silva
Reporter

Danielle Da Silva is a general assignment reporter.

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