The union representing LCBO employees reached an agreement with the alcohol giant late Thursday night, averting a potential strike over the long weekend.
But the lack of a work stoppage won’t simmer the long-standing debate over alcohol in Ontario, and whether there is a better way to distribute it.
On one side are groups like the Ontario Convenience Stores Association, which says alcohol should be available more widely, including in its member stores.
“Ninety-nine per cent of Ontarians today have proven that they’re mature and can handle alcohol responsibly,” says Dave Bryan, the group’s CEO.
On the other side of the debate stand groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving
MADD CEO Andrew Murie says the current system provides more government revenue and lower alcohol-related crime rates than privatized systems.
“Since 1993, when Alberta privatized, it’s always had one of the highest impaired driving rates in Ontario,” he tells CTV.
“Compare the economic situation and the LCBO has always been way more profitable.”
Pam McIntosh says she’d expect to be busier if there were more places for consumers to purchase alcohol – but as she’s the manager of addiction services for House of Friendship, that’s not a good thing.
“If alcohol is available around the clock in many, many locations, people’s consumption of alcohol will increase. That’s a fact,” she says.
In Waterloo Region and Wellington County, impaired driving, binge drinking and alcohol abuse rates are all higher than the provincial average.
An estimated 20 per cent of Waterloo Region residents are affected by alcoholism in some way.
CTV’s Priya Mann is examining the LCBO in a three-part series airing this week on CTV News.
