NDP blocks government bills to expand private liquor sales

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This article was published 17/04/2023 (874 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba New Democrats put a cork in two provincial government bills to expand private liquor sales as advocates for the proposed legislation poured one out to mourn a lost business opportunity.

On Monday, the NDP announced Bill 9 and Bill 30 would be delayed beyond the spring sitting of the legislative assembly, effectively killing the two pieces of legislation by preventing their passage before the house rises for the summer and the expected Oct. 3 election.

“We can still look at ways to modernize our liquor laws while not taking millions of dollars out of the health-care system,” said Wolseley MLA Lisa Naylor, who is NDP critic for Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corp.

Each legislative session, the Opposition can designate up to five bills to be held over to the fall sitting to allow for more time to consider the proposed legislation.

Naylor said the NDP selected the two bills to protect provincial revenues from MLL, which support health care, education and infrastructure, amid an addictions crisis and growing concern for community safety.

“What we don’t want is people being able to pick up a bottle of vodka at the 7-Eleven at two in the morning or having to deal with that when they take their kids their for a Slurpee after school,” Naylor said.

Bill 9 would have permitted existing beer vendors, private wine stores and other liquor retailers to carry the full range of products offered by Liquor Marts.

Bill 30 would have established the framework for a pilot program to allow private retailers such as grocery or convenience stores to sell alcohol.

The bills were part of repeated efforts by the Progressive Conservative government to overhaul liquor retailing in Manitoba, arguing customers deserve increased convenience and businesses want to expand their product lines.

Municipal Relations Minister Andrew Smith, who is responsible for MLL, said the NDP stand in the way of what Manitobans want.

“What the NDP have done today is clear. They want a nanny state. We want to give Manitobans more choice,” Smith told reporters following question period.

“We want to create more opportunities for our local business,” he said. “We want to make sure that we modernize our system and catch up with the 21st century.

“A lot of the country is well ahead of us.”

Local retailers and hotel operators hoping to toast new legislation this summer expressed disappointment with the delay.

“We saw this bill as an opportunity to modernize the way Manitobans access some liquor in a similar way, that almost across North America, is common practice,” said John Graham, government relations director for Retail Council of Canada’s Prairie region.

Graham said other Canadian jurisdictions have been able to find a balance to support expanded private alcohol sales, while managing community safety and protecting government revenue.

“This issue has gone through a political roller-coaster in the past couple years and although extremely popular with Manitobans, it’s one the NDP have consistently held their position on,” Graham said. “We’re disappointed but not surprised.”

Manitoba Hotel Association chief executive officer Michael Juce said members were excited about the opportunity to stock beer vendor shelves with wine and spirits in addition to their current product line.

Up to 226 existing beer vendors, eight private wine stores, 168 rural liquor vendors and 50 craft liquor manufacturers could have sold the full range of MLL products under Bill 9.

Not all hoteliers who operate beer vendors would have signed on to sell, but others have noted a significant demand from their clients, Juce said.

“There is frustration if someone’s travelling from out of town, they perhaps have a beer vendor attached to the property or close by, and they’re asking about a bottle of wine or spirits,” Juce said. “They’re saying, ‘No sorry, you have to go in a taxi or an Uber down the street to pick one up.’”

Naylor said the government has failed to provide evidence to back up claims an expanded market would not put Crown-owned Liquor Marts and their employees in jeopardy.

The Tories have said expanded private sales won’t hurt MLL profits, but have not provided market analysis to back up the claim. An estimated 70 per cent of liquor products sold in Manitoba are purchased at private stores.

The Crown corporation generated $316 million in revenue for the government through liquor sales in 2022-23.

When pressed to provide analysis supporting the government’s position, Smith said he wants to support small, locally owned business.

“At the end of the day, these entrepreneurs do pay taxes, they have staff that pay taxes, and reinvesting in the economy, I think, is always a positive thing,” the minister said. “We have private enterprise reinvesting in the provincial economy. I think that’s win-win situation for everyone.”

Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union president Kyle Ross applauded the NDP for delaying the bills.

“Public Liquor Marts are working for Manitoba,” Ross said in a statement. “They put millions every year back into health care, and they’ve cut crime in liquor stores by 97 per cent.”

— with files from Carol Sanders

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca