More liquor should be sold privately, Manitoba government tells Crown corporation

Manitoba appears to be opening the door for more private liquor sales.

New marching orders for the province's Crown corporations include the request that Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries find additional ways the private sector can be involved in the sale of liquor.   

"There are potentially more opportunities out there and I expect the corporation to exhaust all opportunities," said Crown Services Minister Colleen Mayer.

She insisted the private sector would not take over the sale of all liquor in the province. She said government-run outlets would continue to operate, alongside privately run wine and beer stores.

Private hands in distribution?

Unlike the sale of liquor, the distribution of booze is handled entirely by the province. But Mayer said the government may relinquish some control of distribution to private hands.

"I have never closed my door on any option out there, and I know that the boards are eager to take a look at those opportunities and present them."

Mayer's directive was contained in a new mandate letter to Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries, one of five updated letters presented to provincial Crown corporations on Tuesday.

In response, the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union and NDP warned that privatizating more liquor sales is a mistake.

"Research shows the public liquor sales system works the best," said MGEU president Michelle Gawronsky, whose members are employed at government-run liquor stores. "It's the most socially responsible when it comes to ensuring alcohol doesn't end up in the hands of minors or those already intoxicated."

NDP Leader Wab Kinew said the revenues from Manitoba's Liquor Marts are re-invested into public services.

"Manitoba's public model is proven to be the gold standard that balances social responsibility while keeping prices affordable," Kinew said in a statement. "Brian Pallister must back off his plan to privatize and clearly commit to keeping MLLC public."

The board has also been asked to review the markup the province slaps on the price of liquor, and submit a report to the government on its findings this summer.

Mayer has heard that a number of small businesses find the current markups excessive.

"The cost of some of that is making it very difficult for them," she said. 

In addition, the directors were told to find savings in the way Manitoba acquires liquor products, which may include mass orders with other provinces, and turn over more profit to government without increasing Liquor and Lotteries' capital investment or the availability of liquor and gaming in Manitoba.

'Self-sufficiency' for cultural corporation

Meanwhile, the Manitoba Centennial Centre Corporation has been told to create a five-year plan for self-sufficiency, but Mayer was vague in describing what that means since she said government would still provide some funding.

She explained it would be up to the board to devise a plan for sufficiency for the corporation, which supports a number of cultural centres in Winnipeg, including the Centennial Concert Hall, the Manitoba Museum and planetarium. They received a $2.5-million operating grant from the province in 2018.

The letters also ask the boards of Manitoba Hydro, Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries and Manitoba Public Insurance to defer all non-critical capital projects without a clear return on investment.

Mayer's letter asks the three boards to stay focused on the target of cutting 15 per cent of management positions, if they have not already done so. The government made the order in 2016 to improve the province's finances. 

On Manitoba Hydro, the board has been told to work closely with the province, through the Crown Services Secretariat and Treasury Board, on any long-term contracts, including the sale of electricity. 

The Efficiency Manitoba board is asked to establish the structure of the new corporation in charge of energy efficiency.

The corporation should be as successful as the Power Smart program, if not more so, at a "significantly smaller percentage of the cost and materially less labour costs," the letter reads.