'Very detrimental': SLGA workers call for liquor stores to remain open amid closures
About a dozen SLGA employees came to the Saskatchewan Legislative building to ask that their liquor stores remain open. Michelle Zimmer is a 17 year employee in Saskatoon.
“I’ve been a single income family, a single mom so these kinds of jobs allow us to not absolutely have to struggle to pay our bills, to have our kids in a happy healthy household,” Zimmer told CTV News.
Courtney Topping works in the Prince Albert SLGA location. The announcement of the closure of province owned liquor stores has been detrimental to her family.
“December 1st I was supposed to have a mortgage. I had to turn that down with my partner. It’s actually been very detrimental,” she said.
The remaining 34 provincially owned liquor stores and their licences are set to be auctioned off to private interests. The NDP called for a stop to the plan.
“This decision is a mistake. Will the minister change course and scrap this plan today?”NDP MLA Nathaniel Teed asked during Question Period.
The Minister responsible for the SLGA reminded the opposition MLA of what he wrote in a letter to government prior to being elected.
“’I see the benefits of having private corporations running the stores. These privately run stores are doing an excellent job servicing the Saskatchewan community,’” Carr said, quoting the letter from Teed.
The government blames dwindling profits for the store closures. Some workers feel they were set up to fail.
“[Its] impossible for us to get hold of pop and chips that people are coming in and looking for in a one stop store,” Bob Sadnichuk, a representative for SGEU told CTV News.
“Ice, they would not even allow us to sell ice.”
The affected SLGA workers say the holiday season is the most profitable time of the year yet their shelves are half empty as much of the stock is cleared out and not replenished.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
Blind Sask. boy heading to international braille competition hopes to increase accessibility for visually impaired
A Saskatchewan boy who qualified for an international braille competition in Los Angeles next month hopes he can inspire change in his home province.
'A step forward': New screening criteria for sperm donors takes effect
Canadians looking to grow their families with the assistance of sperm or egg donations should soon have more options for donors as the federal health agency does away with longstanding restrictions criticized as discriminatory.