Private booze sales expansion in the works

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/05/2022 (1378 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Beer vendors and private wine stores across Manitoba could soon see their shelves stocked with hard liquor as the provincial government looks to expand the private retail sale of booze.

A new bill before the Manitoba legislature would allow beer vendors and specialty wine stores to apply for a licence to sell the full range of alcoholic products offered through Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries.

Private liquor retailers in rural Manitoba could also apply to sell case lots of beer in their stores. Currently, only 50 rural retailers are permitted to sell cases of beer in communities where there is no hotel beer vendor.

According to the province, if the proposed legislation becomes law and all beer vendors in Brandon apply for the new retail licences, there would be up to nine locations selling spirits.

For Robin Lawson, manager of The 40 bar and beer vendor in Brandon, it’s an idea she likes, but not necessarily one she sees her workplace following through on.

“That’s purely just for the safety issue, honestly,” she said. “For the bottles, that would put more of a target on us the way that liquor stores have been hit by people trying to steal. The liquor stores have controlled entrances now because it was becoming such an issue.”

In Winnipeg, if specialty wine stores and beer vendors apply for the new retail licences, there would be up to 70 new locations selling spirits and up to 62 new locations selling wine.

For rural Manitoba, an additional 169 locations could offer wine and spirits, and up to 118 more locations could sell beer in large quantities.

In a media call with rural Manitoba outlets on Thursday, Scott Fielding, the minister responsible for Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries, said the bill is one that was put aside after the Progressive Conservatives changed leaders last year and is now being picked up again.

“The big thing we heard from Manitobans is they want more convenience, they want it more in communities,” Fielding said. “For instance, in Brandon, you can buy your wine and spirits at four locations. Really, what this will do is open up the product. There would be almost nine locations, so that almost doubles it. Same thing in rural Manitoba.”

That support, Fielding said, was shown to be around 70 per cent in studies carried out by the province. He added that Manitobans like the service they receive at Liquor Marts, but they would like to see that service expanded over the next five years.

Brandon could become home to private wine stores as a result of the proposed changes.

The minister said Manitoba’s liquor licensing rules are antiquated and need to change. That issue was also brought up earlier this week when another bill relating to licensing rules for places like beverage rooms came up — the rules hadn’t been updated since Prohibition ended.

According to Fielding, the new rules aren’t necessarily based on those in any other provinces, just on a desire to modernize.

Government officials said the proposed legislative changes would apply only to retailers who hold either a hotel beer vendor or specialty wine store licence, if the bill is passed.

The provincial government estimates about 70 per cent of liquor products currently sold in Manitoba are purchased at private stores, including beer vendors, rural liquor stores and specialty wine shops.

On the subject of theft and security, Fielding said the province would work with licence holders to ensure safety but wasn’t sure about specifics at this point.

Bill 42, the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Control Amendment and Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation Amendment Act, would also provide the framework for grocery stores, convenience stores and other retail locations to sell alcohol products as part of a five-year pilot program.

“We really haven’t laid out the parameters of what that would look like,” Fielding said.

Pilot projects would be established through regulations issued by cabinet and would be subject to public consultation prior to government giving the green light, according to the province.

Stores participating in pilot projects would be operating with restrictions that could include limits on the type of alcohol they can sell or set minimum square footage for stores.

Fielding said it’s unlikely similar changes to cannabis licensing would come later on.

» cslark@brandonsun.com, with files from the Winnipeg Free Press

» Twitter: @ColinSlark