The drinking age isn't 21 everywhere on the planet you braindead retard
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-alcohol-beer-wine-grovery-store-supermarket-sales-1.7261181ew Ontario grocery stores sign on to Doug Ford's booze sale plan
While 3,068 convenience stores now hold licences to sell alcohol, only 37 grocery stores are approved so far
Mike Crawley · CBC News · Posted: Jul 12, 2024 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 12
A white-haired man seen through racks carrying bottles of wine at a convenience store.
New figures provided by the Ministry of Finance show that just 37 of the roughly 2,000 eligible grocery stores in Ontario have received a new licence to start selling beer, wine and ready-to-drink cocktails this fall. (Alex Lupul/CBC)
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Premier Doug Ford's highly touted plan to boost the number of places where Ontarians can buy booze is drawing little interest from grocery stores.
Three weeks after applications opened, just 37 grocery stores have received approval from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario for the new licence to start selling beer, wine and ready-to-drink cocktails, according to fresh figures provided by the Ministry of Finance.
That's about two per cent of the roughly 2,000 grocery stores in Ontario that aren't already licensed to sell beer and wine.
Contrast that with the 3,068 convenience stores that have been granted licences in the three weeks since applications opened. That's more than 40 per cent of the convenience stores in the province.
Under the government's plan, grocery stores that want to sell alcoholic beverages will be obligated to accept returns of empty beer cans and wine bottles.
Grocers concerned about accepting empty returns
Convenience stores don't face the same obligation, and that discrepancy is why so few grocery stores are signing up, says Gary Sands, senior vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers.
Shoppers pass beer on grocery store shelves.
Grocery stores of 4,000 square feet or more will be required to accept returns of empty alcohol cans and bottles as a condition of their licence to sell beer, wine and ready-to-drink cocktails. An official representing independent grocers says that condition is why so few grocers are signing up. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)
"We want to sell beer and wine," Sands said in an interview. "But many, many, many [grocers] are simply not going to go near the application process unless or until the recycling component is rethought."
Sands says grocers have concerns about the cost, space and hygiene implications of having to accept empty returns.
Alcohol sales coming to Ontario corner stores by September
"For many of the independents, they're making a choice and they're choosing not to take up the application process to get a licence," he said.
Sands says the small number of grocery stores that have shown interest in applying should send a message to the government that it needs to revisit the plan.
Convenience stores that obtain a licence will be allowed to starting selling alcohol from Sept. 5, while newly licensed grocery stores can't start selling until Oct. 31.
"Grocery and big-box stores have 112 days to apply for a licence from the AGCO to begin selling beer, cider, wine and ready-to-drink beverages," said Colin Blachar, press secretary for Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, in a statement.
WATCH | How the LCBO brings in $2.5 billion for Ontario annually:
Here’s how the LCBO brings in $2.5 billion for Ontario annually
1 day ago
Duration 3:40
The LCBO earns nearly 80 per cent of its revenue from its retail outlets, all currently closed by strike, the corporation’s latest annual report shows. CBC’s Mike Crawley breaks down how the LCBO currently turns a profit and how things are expected to change with the Ford government's reforms — including the premier’s plan to sell select alcohol in Ontario convenience and grocery stores.
"As the first segment of the market to be expanded, we are pleased that so many convenience stores are gearing up to provide people with more choice," Blachar added.
Just 7 new grocery stores approved in 5 largest cities
According to data on the AGCO website, there have been only seven grocery stores approved for an alcohol retail licence in Ontario's five largest cities: two in Toronto, three in Mississauga, two in Brampton, and none in Ottawa or Hamilton.
Yet in those same cities, hundreds of convenience stores have been approved, as of Thursday, July 11:
Toronto: 193.
