NDP remakes MLL board with emphasis on public ownership, operation By: Kevin Rollason Posted: 4:01 PM CST Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023 Last Modified: 6:05 PM CST Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023 Updates

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This article was published 12/12/2023 (1015 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The taps have been shut off and corks put back in the bottles on any potential move to expand private liquor sales in Manitoba.

On Tuesday, the new NDP government continued to put its stamp on the boards of provincial Crown corporations, announcing former Tory cabinet minister Bonnie Mitchelson had been replaced as Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corp. chairperson.

The government’s mandate letter for the new chair and board members says MLL and other Crowns “belong to the people of Manitoba and should always remain publicly owned and operated.”

Sport, Culture and Heritage Minister Glen Simard, also minister responsible for MLL, said the NDP believes the liquor branch should continue delivering products to consumers “within a public delivery approach,” adding it is also looking to “responsibly expand public liquor retail stores.”

It’s a different approach than the former Tory government’s plan to allow existing beer vendors, liquor retailers and private wine stores to carry a full range of products, as well as a pilot program to allow private retailers (including grocery and convenience stores) to sell alcohol.

“What makes a public organization strong is the same as making a private one strong,” Simard said Tuesday, after the announcement of a new MLL board.

“These public corporations have a mandate to support education through the province, but also the social well-being. And (the profits) help pay for our health system and it employs a lot of Manitobans.”

Jeff Traeger, president of UFCW Canada Local 832, which represents workers at Manitoba grocery stores, was named chairman of the MLL board of directors.

“This new team is up to the challenge of making sure that Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries can serve Manitobans as a successful, publicly owned Crown corporation,” Simard said in an earlier statement.

Traeger — secretary-treasurer of the Manitoba Federation of Labour, member of UFCW Canada National Council and UFCW International vice-president — said he is eager to begin the job.

“The mandate letter outlines the direction the government wants to go and, as chair, it will be my job to take the organization in the direction the government wants,” he said.

Working with stakeholders to lift a pause on gaming expansion “is important. It is part of economic reconciliation. We need it done in a socially responsible way,” he added.

Traeger said he assured Premier Wab Kinew (who first asked Traeger if he would like to take on the role) he will reduce the amount of time he spends on other areas to ensure the focus needed to be MLL chairman.

“It was very nice to hear from him and nice he has put his confidence in me.”

Mitchelson, who was first elected in 1986 and served 30 years as a MLA, was appointed board chairwoman last year. The position paid $50,000 annually, as well as out-of-pocket expenses.

Simard replaced former Tory MP Rod Bruinooge as a board member.

Tim Comack, vice-president of Ventura Land Co. and Ventura Developments, continues as vice-chairman after his appointment last year.

The only other returning member is Christine Van Cauwenberghe, head of financial planning for IG Wealth Management.

Other new members include: Michelle Cameron, founder of Dreamcatcher Promotions; Sarah Pinsent-Bardarson, a mental health counsellor for families in the Interlake and a former NDP MLA candidate; and Tannis Mindell, a former deputy minister and first chairwoman of MLL (after the province merged two Crowns into a single entity in 2012).

Since taking power after October’s provincial election, the NDP government also changed the boards at both Manitoba Hydro and Manitoba Public Insurance, retaining only one previous member at each corporation.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca