Liquor outlet frustrated by low inventory
The owners of D & L Variety in Nottawa are grateful to have a Liquor Convenience Outlet (LCO) on site, but they are frustrated by the lack of support from the government during the current strike. In theory, sales at roughly 2300 LCOs in the province will not be affected by the labour dispute, but Louise McCartney-West says that is not the reality.
“Having the LCO saved our family business during COVID, but now that LCBO workers are on strike, we are being told we can only order from 100 skus (stock keeping units). When we tried to place our order at 8 a.m. Monday, we were told that at least 60 of those items were out of stock.” says McCartney-West.
Store manager Marilyn Foley says LCO clients are not being treated fairly. “When we try to order, the items show as out of stock, but if I go onto the website as a consumer to order for home delivery, the merchandise shows as “available”.” When she reached out to her LCBO representative for help, the only assistance received was advice to keep trying the website.
Foley says their weekly order to the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) is typically in the $20,000 to $25,000 range but based on current availability, they’ll be lucky to get a single skid of product worth about $2,200 this week. The past weekend was a busy one for alcohol sales at D & L, and there are lots of empty shelves. Foley spoke with one customer who had visited at least five LCOs throughout Simcoe County and reported that whiskey, vodka and ready-to-drink cocktails are in short supply everywhere. Foley says they can’t even get cheap vodka, much less the quality products that their customers are looking for.
Premier Doug Ford took to social media on Monday to tell Ontarians there are still plenty of places to buy alcohol. The province is considering expanding sales in grocery and convenience store. McCartney-West says expansion in great, but it has to involve some common sense. “Is this going to be like Tim Hortons where there’s one on every corner?”
Roughly 9,000 LCBO workers walked off the job last week to back demands for increased wages and job security, and a move from casual to full-time jobs. According to the Ontario Public Service Employees Union which represents the workers, more than 70 per cent of jobs at LCBO are casual.
Workers from LCBO outlets in Creemore, Stayner and Wasaga Beach can be seen on the picket lines outside the Collingwood store. Their union states they are fighting back against the privatization of alcohol sales and warehouses not only to protect jobs, but also the public services that LCBO revenues fund.
The Ontario government website does not have information regarding their position on the labour disruption but does share alternate locations for consumers to purchase alcohol across the province.
If there is no speedy resolution to the strike, the province says all LCBO outlets will remain closed until July 18, then a select few will open for limited hours from Friday to Sunday. Beer stores and retail locations of private brewers and distillers will remain open. Kimberly Schneider of Duntroon Cyder House expects they will see an uptick in business due to the LCBO strike.
