'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.
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