By Sarah Rae

Liquor store privatization going ahead in Battleford

Jul 22, 2016 | 7:00 PM

The privatization of the Battleford liquor store is moving forward, despite protest locally and provincially.

The request for proposal (RFP) for individuals or businesses interested in opening a privatized liquor store in Battleford will be issued Monday, July 25, according to David Morris of the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority.

He said Battleford residents are going to benefit from the change.

“Consumers are going to enjoy more choice; they’re going to have greater convenience, more competitive pricing, that’s something they’re going to see with these new expanded retail opportunities,” he said.

Aaron and Charity Janzen, owners of Battleford Super A Foods, presented a petition to town council recently to stop the privatization of the liquor store. They said there’s no guarantee where the new one could be located and if it moves out of the downtown core it could draw business away from other downtown businesses like theirs.

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The Saskatchewan Government and General Employees’ Union supports the Janzens’ cause. Donna Christianson, chair of the negotiating committee with SLGA, said privatizing liquor stores is a bad idea whether they’re moved or not.

“They’re not losing any money from any of these stores they’re converting to private liquor stores and if it hurts the business next door, that’s a concern for all taxpayers,” she said.

Christianson said typically in a small community when something is privatized, it’s absorbed into an existing business. In the case of a liquor store it would likely be moved into a convenience store or grocery store. She said this cuts jobs and disproportionately affects rural areas.

Morris said it’s difficult to speculate already on the new store’s location and whether there would be job losses. He said there will clearly be a shift in the workforce, but the new locations will still need people to sell and stock their supplies of alcohol.

Sarah Rae is battlefordsNOW’s court and crime reporter. She can be reached at Sarah.Rae@jpbg.ca or tweet her @sarahjeanrae.