Alberta liquor retailers reject idea of expanding alcohol sales to groceries, corner stores
CBC
People working in Alberta's liquor industry say they're perplexed to see the provincial government consider letting grocers and corner stores sell alcohol in an already privatized retail system.
Dale Nally, the minister responsible for Alberta liquor, gaming and cannabis, acknowledged this month that a panel of MLAs is studying the idea.
"We heard about some innovative things that Ontario is doing, getting liquor on the grocery store shelves," Nally told reporters last week.
"I wouldn't be doing my job as the minister if we didn't take a look at it."
Nally's press secretary, Nicky Gocuan, told CBC News in a statement that the government assembled a group to study liquor sales in late December. The panel includes United Conservative Party MLAs Andrew Boitchenko, Brandon Lunty, Scott Sinclair and Chelsae Petrovic.
The move was "driven by media inquiries to government after Ontario proposed a significant change in its retail liquor model," the statement said.
To date, the panel has consulted with provincial regulator Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC), liquor retailers, grocery and convenience operators, warehouses, and responsible-use advocacy groups Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Canadian Mental Health Association.
Alberta Liquor Store Association president Ivonne Martinez said when she submitted feedback to the panel in March, her message was clear.
"Industry is 100 per cent opposed to this," she said.
New competition from large grocery and convenience chains could be disastrous for many of Alberta's independently owned liquor stores, Martinez said.
"We wait to hear what the panel is recommending to the minister. But we would say that it would be a catastrophic initiative for our industry for sure," she said.
"Nobody's asking for this. So why are we looking at this? Why are we trying to find a solution to a problem that doesn't exist?"
Gocuan said Albertans are also being consulted through a public opinion survey. It's unclear whether the survey already happened, or if it's rolling out in the future.
No decisions have been made — Nally said he still hasn't seen the MLA panel's report on the feedback they gathered, but he expects to say more about the issue soon.
City staff would like Londoners to take a good look around their home and ask themselves a direct and possibly difficult question: Could everyone in your family survive at home, without leaving and with no other help, for a full 72 hours?
Liberal Leader Mark Carney will officially become Canada's next prime minister within a few hours, taking the reins as the country barrels toward a general election and continues to fend off verbal and economic attacks from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Recent cyberattacks in Newfoundland and Labrador should have been a wake up call for the federal government about the reality of an increasingly hostile world, says one cybersecurity expert.
A recent CBC News analysis found that Nova Scotia is rapidly losing some of its most affordable apartments, but housing experts say there are ways to prevent that.
Premier Susan Holt is defending her decision to not use electricity exports to Maine as leverage against U.S. tariffs, arguing the move might cause long-term pain for New Brunswickers.
Montreal's St. Patrick's Day parade first started on Saint-Paul Street in 1824, and a couple centuries later, this annual tradition is still going strong.
A congregation in Carman, Man., is coming to grips with the loss of their Anglican Lutheran church, a fixture in the community that was ravaged by a fire on Thursday.
Kayla DeMong fought tears as she described the dire conditions on the front lines, pleading for more help from the province as staff at the harm reduction site she leads try to keep up with the recent spike in overdoses.
A B.C. woman who has been detained by U.S. immigration officials for 11 days, after trying to enter the country, will be released on Friday, according to her father.
Toronto is doubling the number of automated speed cameras on city streets.
Health Minister Adriana LaGrange is alleging the former CEO of Alberta Health Services was unwilling and unable to implement the government's plan to break up the health authority, became "infatuated" with her internal investigation into private surgical contracts and made "incendiary and inaccurate allegations about political intrigue and impropriety" before she was fired in January.
Hudson's Bay Company filed for creditor protection last week, saying it's struggling to pay landlords, vendors and employees — and it's a process that could lead to the sale or closure of Canada's oldest company.
Still sleepy from this week's time change?