SLGA liquor licence sales net province $45M
CBC
Throughout the month of February, 35 liquor licence permits owned by the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority were auctioned off — and the total bids amounted to more than $45 million.
The Saskatchewan Party government announced in its throne speech last fall that it would be shuttering provincially-run liquor stores, leading to a three-week long auction on liquor licences.
The auction ran from Feb. 6 to Feb. 24 and final bids ranged from $450,000 in towns like Carlyle to nearly $3.3 million in the town of La Ronge.
"We are pleased to see these auctions come to a successful conclusion," the minister responsible for SLGA Lori Carr said in a Monday news release.
"The incredible amount of interest means that we will have additional revenue to put toward the high-quality public services we all enjoy."
The retail and regulatory vice-president of Saskatchewan Government Employees' Union, Bob Stadnichuk, said the about 400 workers who lost their jobs from the privatization of the liquor sector have gone through the gamut of emotions that accompany losing their jobs and have come to accept it.
"We've had the anger, we've had the tears, we've had the emotions that go with any kind of loss," said Stadnichuk.
Stadnichuk said public employees in other provinces should be wary of privatization after leaders will have seen the "cash cow" that's been milked in Saskatchewan.
Alberta privatized all of its liquor stores in the early 1990's and while Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries is responsible for the sale of liquor products in the neighbouring eastern province, the governing Progressive Conservatives proposed a bill last spring that would let private wine stores and beer sell a full range of alcohol products that would be on par with the government-run stores.
Of the 35 liquor stores in Saskatchewan, 27 had closed as of Monday, with seven more to shutter at the end of the day on March 11.
According to the province, new retailers will be held to the SLGA licensing requirements to keep their permit and will have 18 months to meet the requirements — including securing a location and hiring staff — and open the business.
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