It’s barely been a day since the LCBO strike began, but its impacts are already being felt by Ontarians bracing for a hot summer weekend.
Temperatures are expected to reach 28 C this weekend and consumers have been flocking to the nearest Wine Rack or Beer Store seeking refreshments, while restaurant owners worry that they’ll run out of raspberry vodka and vintage wines, especially if the strike continues for the next few weeks.
Why are workers striking?
On midnight Friday, more than 9,000 LCBO employees hit the picket lines, demanding, among other things, job security in light of the government’s expansion plans for alcohol sales in the province.
Last year, Premier Doug Ford announced that the province would allow the sales of beer, wine, cider and ready-to-drink cocktails in convenience stores and all grocers by 2026, starting this September.
“Doug Ford wants to make life better for his wealthy friends,” said Ontario Public Service Employees Union president JP Hornick in a statement Thursday.
“It’s why he’s wasting upwards of a billion dollars of our money to fast-track privatized alcohol sales and hand more of the public revenues generated by the LCBO over to the CEOs and big box grocery and convenience chains like Loblaws and Circle K.”
At Queen’s Park on Friday, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy reiterated his call for “OPSEU to return to the negotiating table and work towards a deal that prioritizes Ontario consumers and producers.”
Bethlenfalvy said the government is “more committed than ever to fulfilling our promise of choice and convenience by expanding access to beer, cider, wine and ready-to-drink beverages in convenience, grocery and big-box stores starting later this summer,” while retaining the provincial LCBO monopoly.
In a statement, Convenience Industry Council of Canada spokesperson Anne Kothawala said “it is unfortunate that OPSEU leadership are afraid of competition and are fighting for a closed, restrictive market with fewer options for consumers.
“Their claim that expanding the sale of beverage alcohol will somehow hurt jobs and reduce tax revenues defies logic and ignores the benefits that added convenience will provide to consumers.”
How long is the strike expected to last?
It’s uncertain how long the strike will last, but Hornick said the union is prepared with a “very healthy strike fund” and that “we can weather a strike as long as necessary.”
If the strike drags on, the LCBO said it will close its stores for two weeks before opening up 32 select stores, which will operate during restricted hours from Fridays to Sundays, starting on July 19.
Still, store closures won’t be as “big a deal as they would have been 30 years ago, when the LCBO was the main point of access,” said Brock University professor of health sciences Dan Malleck.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ford’s government changed licensing rules so more than 19,000 bars and restaurants are allowed to sell bottles and cans to go, which could alleviate the pressure from consumers in the cities, while more than 400 independent alcohol outlets will remain serving smaller communities.
Where can I buy alcohol?
Online ordering will be available through LCBO.com and the LCBO’s mobile app with free home delivery during the strike, with no minimums. There are maximums though: a maximum two units for spirits, 12 units for wine, and 12 units for beer, cider and ready-to-drink.
The LCBO said it will keep processing wholesale orders through a separate online system from LCBO Convenience Outlets, licensed grocery stores, The Beer Store, and winery, brewery, cidery and distillery outlets, as well as from bars and restaurants.
Industry experts, however, say the online-only process might pose an inconvenience to these establishments, as they must order a case with, typically, a minimum of twelve bottles.
“In some cases, you have to buy a case of, say, scotch, and you might need a year to get through it,” explained Tony Elenis, president and CEO at Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association.
Starting Wednesday, the LCBO will also open five locations in Toronto, Mississauga, Woodbridge, London and Ottawa that will exclusively serve licensees, including bars, restaurants, nightclubs and lounges, so they can shop by the bottle rather than the case, but the locations are unknown at this point.
“We have measures in place across our inventory build, our warehouse operations, and our fulfillment approach that reflect the importance of beverage alcohol availability to our wholesale, especially during the busy summer months,” said an LCBO spokesperson in a statement.
When could liquor run out?
Most of the largest restaurants and hotel chains bought enough supply to last them around four weeks, while smaller ones may be able to last up to two weeks, said Elenis.
Mom-and-pop shops are especially vulnerable to run into issues as they might not have enough cash reserves to order alcohol in bulk and stock up in advance of possible shortages. (This, the LCBO says, might be alleviated with the opening of five stores exclusive to licensees next week.)
Consumers will generally find the bar rail basics, but could see limited availability of specialty drinks such as high-end scotches, vintage wine or flavoured spirits, said Kris Barnier, vice-president of Restaurants Canada.
Meanwhile, there will be plenty of local wine available, says Wine Rack spokesperson Mark Wasserman.
Wine Rack’s owner, Arterra Wines Canada, had been preparing for a possible strike by increasing operating hours, staffing and inventory, he said. Arterra operates eight wineries in Ontario’s wine regions, and is the producer behind brands such as Jackson-Triggs, Inniskillin, Sandbanks Estates, Bodacious and others.
“It’s a good opportunity, when other places are shut, for people to rediscover Ontario” wines, said Wasserman.
“We have super-high conversion rates with consumers when they walk into a Wine Rack,” he said. “I’m hopeful that we can retain some of those customers post-strike.”
With files from Robert Benzie
