In November, you received a letter from Don McMorris, the minister responsible for the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority, regarding the planned privatization of Canora’s publicly-owned liquor store. Since the language in Minister McMorris’ letter was vague, I’m writing to clarify some issues you may have about how liquor privatization will affect your community.
The minister’s letter says that Canora’s Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority store has been “identified for conversion.” By “conversion,” the minister actually means “closure.” While his choice of wording suggests that Canora’s existing SLGA store will simply be sold to a private owner, who will provide the same level of service at the same location, this is not the reality.
When liquor sales in Canora are privatized, the local SLGA store will be closed permanently, and its employees will lose their jobs. The private retailer will choose their own location to operate out of – most likely an existing businesses such as a grocery store or drugstore. Government’s privatization plans will allow private retailers in communities with a population below 2,000, such as Canora, to sell liquor from within an existing business, similar to its current rural franchise model.
This means that if privatization occurs, you can expect the building that housed your local SLGA store to sit empty, without a new business opening to replace it. This is what happened after four SLGA stores – in the towns of Ituna, Ponteix, Langenburg, and Kerrobert – were “converted” into franchises in 2014. As of January 2016, the former stores in all four towns remain vacant. These communities have all shown a reduction in consumer traffic and spending since the closures.
At the same time, you can expect the cost of liquor in Canora to increase, while the selection available to shoppers decreases. Your SLGA store benefits from being part of a large, efficient retail operation that can afford to offer a wide variety of products, and that offers the same prices at all stores despite the higher costs of shipping product to rural stores. But a private retailer is not likely to have the shelf space for anything approaching the selection your SLGA store offers, and will not likely take a financial risk stocking speciality items or other products that might not sell quickly. As well, once SLGA’s province-wide prices are no longer in effect, the private retailer will likely raise prices to cover higher shipping costs and to exploit the lack of nearby competition.
Privatization also means that good, family-supporting jobs will be lost in Canora. Since liquor will be sold by the existing staff of the private retailer’s existing business, it’s unlikely any new jobs will be created to offset the layoffs of SLGA employees. And if any new jobs are created, they will pay far less than SLGA staff currently make – meaning harder times for local workers, and less money spent in the local economy. When jobs are lost in a community it affects other businesses as workers displaced tend to shop where their new jobs are.
Government has done its best to conceal the fact that liquor privatization will represent a serious loss of service for Canora, as well as an economic setback. In all likelihood, privatization will mean that residents pay more for a smaller selection of liquor products, local workers lose their family-supporting jobs, and a building that once housed a valuable business sits empty.
Before the government implements its privatization plan, I urge you to take action to ensure your community’s interests are protected. Tell your local MLA that you will not support a plan that will reduce services and cost jobs in Canora. Consider passing a motion that bars private liquor stores from opening – the government has promised that SLGA stores will continue to operate in communities where there is no interest in privatization. And above all, make sure your citizens are aware of exactly what liquor privatization will mean for them and their community.
Bob Stadnichuk
A Saskatoon public liquor store employee and member of the Keep Liquor Public organization
