Public auction of Sask. liquor store licenses begins
A public auction of Saskatchewan liquor store licenses began on Monday. The government is closing its 34 remaining SLGA locations with licenses going to the highest bidder.
Moose Jaw’s historic railway station liquor store was the latest to close on the weekend as the government gets out of the liquor retail business.
Bob Stadnichuk, vice president of SGEU and Saskatoon liquor store employee, said there is basically nothing left in the stores that will attract customers.
“What’s been happening is that they just allow everything to deplete and we move stuff around and some people move the shelves around to make it look fuller,” he said.
Lori Carr, minister for liquor and gaming, watched online as bids came in.
“For the next four days, five more stores will open up (for license sale) every day. Saskatoon and Regina will be on every day then various communities added.”
Five are on the auction block now with more to come. There are 34 stores closing. Initial bids ranged from $24,000 for a Saskatoon license to $1,000 in Carlyle. Each license will be on sale for about 10 days.
“With this process, we are able to have people bid throughout the entire province without having to go to a specific location and get the highest bid for the taxpayers,” Carr said.
The public can follow the bids online at McDougall Auctions but must know the sale keyword, which is “liquor.”
Those wishing to bid must register and make a $5,000 refundable deposit.
Stock from locations that have closed will be moved to Regina and Saskatoon for final clear out by March 11.
Product remaining on the shelves cannot be returned to the warehouse and will be discounted until gone.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.