More than half of Ontario corner stores have been licensed to sell beer and wine as of next month

Convenience stores can start selling alcohol off their shelves in about a month and, so far, more than 3,850 have obtained their liquor licences to do so.

A spokesperson for the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) confirmed to CTV News Toronto that, as of Aug. 12, it had approved 3,866 convenience store licences with about 42 per cent of those licences (1,617 stores) being for gas stations.

That means that more than half of the approximately 6,700 convenience stores in Ontario are already licensed to sell beer, cider, wine and ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages starting Sept. 5, the first Thursday after Labour Day weekend. Newly licensed grocery stores can begin selling the same alcoholic drinks to customers starting Oct. 31.

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The AGCO said stores are barred from selling booze beforehand, even if they have already received their liquor licence.

As the government ramps up its plan to sell alcohol in more places, the AGCO also confirmed it received additional funding from the province for staffing to increase "compliance and enforcement activities."

"AGCO has therefore increased its inspection capacity by about 25 (per cent) to monitor the safe and responsible sale of alcohol by licensees in the expanded liquor retail marketplace," Raymond Kahnert of the AGCO wrote in an email to CTV News Toronto.

Eligible convenience and grocery stores must meet several criteria to hold their liquor licence, as established under the province's Liquor Licence and Control Act, including a "wide-ranging compliance monitoring process."

Employees must be at least 18 years old and complete an AGCO Board-approved training program before a store can sell alcohol. Though some grocery stores operate 24 hours, all licensed locations must only sell liquor within the province's permissible timeframe from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Sunday. Additionally, grocery store licensees are only permitted to sell beverages with an alcohol content no greater than 7.1 per cent by volume, and cannot sell wine with an alcohol content greater than 18 per cent.

Licence holders must comply with their obligations at all times or risk regulatory action, which includes monetary penalties, suspension or revocation of their licence, depending on the severity of the situation.

About 10,000 Liquor Control Board of Ontario workers returned to work on July 22 following a weekslong strike in response to Premier Doug Ford’s alcohol expansion plan, as their union claimed that it posed an existential threat to the workers’ future. The union signed a three-year deal granting workers an eight per cent wage increase during that time, the conversion of nearly 1,000 casual employees to permanent part-time positions, and the promise there will be no store closures over the course of the agreement.

With files from The Canadian Press