With LCBO stores across the province closed due to the ongoing strike, the Ontario government is allowing ready-to-drink cocktails in grocery stores sooner than planned.
The province announced Monday morning that the 450 licensed grocery stores in Ontario will be able to order ready-to-drink beverages, such as coolers and seltzers, and large packs of beer starting on Thursday. Those locations will then be permitted to sell those items as soon as they arrive in store.
The original plan, announced in May, barred the sale of those alcoholic drinks until August 1.
"Our government is keeping our promise to give people in Ontario choice and convenience while supporting Ontario-made beverage producers across the province, including the Ontario businesses that produce more than 80 per cent of the ready-to-drink beverages sold here in our province,” Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said in a statement. “This is an important milestone for grocery retailers and consumers alike as we continue our work modernizing Ontario’s alcohol marketplace.”
The provincial government's alcohol sales expansion plan will also see every convenience, grocery, and big-box store in Ontario able to sell beer, cider, wine, and ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages by the end of October, if they choose to do so. Those retailers are also being granted temporary flexibility to allow them to display alcohol in multiple areas of a store, with some limits, the province stated.
The acceleration of the sale of ready-to-drink cocktails in grocery stores comes as the strike by the LCBO's more than 9,000 workers enters its eleventh day. The Crown corporation employees walked off the job on July 5, shuttering all 669 stores in the province.
The union has previously stated the main point of contention is the Ford government's plan to expand alcohol sales, particularly the sale of ready-to-drink cocktails to grocery and convenience stores. It has stated the move will jeopardize the $2.5 billion in public revenue the LCBO brings in and lead to job losses. Despite this, Premier Doug Ford stressed last week his government will not back down from its expansion plan and added that no deal will be reached between the LCBO and its workers that included limited the sale of ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages to the Crown corporation.
There are currently no new talks scheduled between the two sides.
On Sunday, the LCBO stated it was abandoning its plans to reopen 32 of its locations with limited hours, three days a week as of this Friday. Instead, it is re-allocating the personnel that were to be dedicated to in-store shopping to enhance support for sales to bars, restaurants, and other businesses. Ontarians can still order products for home delivery through the LCBO website.