LILLEY: Ford sidesteps union by pushing ahead on booze sale expansion

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The Ford government moved up the sale of ready-to-drink beverages in grocery stores by two weeks in response to the strike by LCBO workers. Now they’re considering whether they can speed up the timeline for booze in convenience stores as well.

The announcement, made Monday morning, said ready-to-drink beverages will be available for sale in the 450 existing grocery stores that sell alcohol starting on Thursday. The initial plan was for this change to take effect on Aug. 1, but the shutdown of LCBO retail stores due to the strike changed that.

“As the province implements its plan, the government will continue to constantly evaluate how it can deliver choice and convenience,” a government news release said, hinting they’d like to move sooner on corner stores as well.

The government’s plan for expanding to convenience stores originally called for allowing the sale of alcohol in licensed stores after Sept. 5. Allowing expansion ahead of that date might be a government goal now, but it will be hampered by licensing, training requirements for staff and most importantly distribution.

Some stores have their licences in place already, others are in the final stages and all will need to put their staff through government-approved training for selling alcohol, but that training is still in development.

Being able to access products would be the main issue with expanding beyond what was announced on Monday. While it is retail workers who are on strike, they have been successful in picketing warehouses that supply retailers, bars and restaurants.

Many LCBO convenience outlets – often located outside of major urban centres – have been ransacked by those looking for booze. The outlet located at the corner of Hurontario Rd. and King St. in Caledon, one of the closest outlets to Toronto, was completely sold out of wine and spirits on Sunday.

“Maybe Tuesday,” the man working the counter said when asked when they would have stock other than beer.

Many bars and restaurants are also feeling the pinch.

While some were able to stock up, others with low cash flow or those with very high volumes weren’t able to do so.

“They’ve gone from 3,000 products to 125,” one bar owner said Monday, expressing frustration with the situation.

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And with so few products available, specialty products are in short supply. Any bar or restaurant relying on the sale of high-end whisky, vodka or tequila will soon be running dry on those products unless something changes.

The LCBO was slated to open more than 30 retail stores to the public this week, but that plan was put on hold. Now managers who were slated to operate those retail outlets on a limited schedule will be deployed to find ways to service the bar and restaurant sector.

With the hiccups of online consumer sales that were experienced last week subsiding and with so many additional places to get alcohol, most residents won’t notice this strike in our day-to-day lives. If the LCBO and the Ford government can solve the problems of bars and restaurants, even fewer of us will notice.

The strike is based almost entirely on the Ontario Public Service Employees Union wanting the government to reverse course on allowing ready-to-drink beverages to be sold in grocery and convenience stores. By moving up the date for grocery expansion, even by just two weeks, the Ford government is signalling that it won’t back down.

Ford has been clear; he has no intention of selling or privatizing the LCBO. If the unionized workers decide to stay on strike, they will only damage their future as more people realize they don’t need the government liquor store and change their shopping habits.

If the union membership was smart, they’d demand that their leadership put the latest contract offer to a vote.