The Alberta government is considering allowing grocery and corner stores to sell alcohol, a move that has raised concerns and opposition from the liquor industry. A panel of MLAs is studying the idea, prompted by Ontario’s proposal to significantly expand private-sector liquor retailing. However, Alberta has had a fully privatized system for more than 30 years. Industry representatives argue that increased competition would harm independently owned liquor stores and that there is no public demand for such a change. The Alberta Liquor Store Association president, Ivonne Martinez, said that the industry is 100% opposed to the proposal. She argued that new competition from large grocery and convenience chains could be disastrous for many of Alberta’s independently owned liquor stores. “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?” John Graham, government relations director for the Retail Council of Canada’s Prairie region, said that various industry groups have weighed in so far. He added that the impact of any change comes down to the details. “Ontario is now just starting to expand, more deliberately, the private-sector retailing of liquor, where Alberta has this existing system, where there would be opportunities for some and significant disruption to others if a change was to occur.” In Ontario, the government-owned Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) is in charge of the majority of retail alcohol sales. However, in Alberta, there are more than 1,500 privately owned liquor stores across the province. Large grocery retailers, including Loblaws, Sobeys and Costco, already operate their own standalone liquor stores in Alberta, often in the same shopping complexes as their grocery stores. Tom Bell, manager of Edmonton store Sandy Lane Liquor, said that Alberta already has plenty of places to buy alcohol and that he doesn’t see a need for more. He also expressed concerns about how supermarkets and corner stores would handle the numerous rules in place for liquor retailers, such as the prohibition on employing anyone younger than 18 and the requirement of assessing whether customers are intoxicated. “We have people who have invested their lives into this model for the past 30 years,” he said. “So where is this push coming from? I just don’t understand the reasoning behind it.” The government is also seeking public opinion on the matter through a survey. No decisions have been made, and the minister responsible for Alberta liquor, gaming and cannabis, Dale Nally, said that he still hasn’t seen the MLA panel’s report on the feedback they gathered. He added that he expects to say more about the issue soon.
Alberta Liquor Industry Perplexed by Proposal to Sell Alcohol in Grocery and Corner Stores
