Alcohol expansion plans accelerated in Ontario as LCBO strike continues

As the LCBO strike enters its second week, the Ontario government is speeding up its alcohol expansion plans, announcing licensed grocery stores will be able to start selling ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages as of July 18.

The announcement marks a two-week acceleration of the province’s plan to expand alcohol sales across Ontario, with an end goal of introducing beer, cider, wine and RTDs to convenience stores by Sept. 5.

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“Our government is keeping our promise to give people in Ontario choice and convenience while supporting Ontario-made beverage producers across the province, including the Ontario businesses that produce more than 80 per cent of the ready-to-drink beverages sold here in our province,” Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said in a news release issued Monday.

The first phase of the plan – which was scheduled to begin on Aug. 1 – gives grocery stores which are already licensed the ability to order RTDs and large-pack sizes of beer and sell them as soon as they arrive.

Those 450 grocery stores will also be able to temporarily display alcohol in multiple areas of the store, the government said, adding that retailers with the same owner and or affiliated licensees can transfer some alcoholic beverages between locations to help bars and restaurants manage inventory during the strike.

RTDs have been a hot topic in the ongoing negotiations between the LCBO and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), which is representing the Crown corporation’s more than 9,000 striking workers.

OPSEU has argued that the expansion of RTDs and other alcoholic products to grocery and corner stores will impact the $2.5 billion in revenue it generates for public services every year and result in job losses.

In a news release issued after the province’s announcement, OPSEU said that the “rush” to expand alcohol sales in the province will cost taxpayers more than $1 billion.

"Doug Ford's policies affect our livelihoods and the public good – so we had to fight back," Colleen MacLeod, chair of OPSEU’s bargaining team, said in a statement of the strike that began on July 5. "And we are getting tired of others trying to tell us what our strike is over. This is about way more than ready-to-drink cocktails."

For the province’s part, last week Premier Ford emphatically said RTDs are off the table when it comes to any future deals between the LCBO and its unionized workers.

“If they (OPSEU) want to negotiate over RTD, the deal is off,” Ford told reporters at a news conference at a brewery in Etobicoke on Wednesday.

“Let me be very clear. It is done, it is gone. That ship has sailed. It’s halfway across Lake Ontario.” 

The province says its plan to open up the alcohol market in Ontario will culminate in October when every licensed convenience, grocery and big box store will be able to sell beer, cider, wine and mixed drinks. Once that happens, the province estimates that alcohol will be available for purchase at 8,500 new locations, which it said is the biggest expansion of consumer choice and convenience since the end of prohibition.