A small group of OPSEU (Ontario Public Service Employees Union) members were joined by Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas for an educational picket at the LCBO on Long Lake Road on Friday.
The group was promoting the website keepitpublic.ca, a site that does the majority of the legwork in sending an email to your local MPP to keep the LCBO public.
"We're here to let people know that we expect Premier Ford to push to put liquor and wine and beer in stores and privatize the sale of alcohol," said Gélinas. "With more access to alcohol there is an increased risk to young people, and the LCBO brings in $1.8 billion per year for the province, which helps to fund important services."
Shoppers passing through the LCBO stopped to chat with Gélinas and OPSEU members and were given cards with the message "The LCBO belongs to us - the people of Ontario. We trust it to keep our kids and communities safe."
Emails sent through keepitpublic.ca will go to Premier Ford and Finance Minister Vic Fedelli.
Polling data from Nanos suggests that Ontarians are 12 times more likely to choose the LCBO over private distributors when it comes to keeping kids safe when it comes to alcohol, says OPSEU LBED (Liquor Board Employees Division) local 681 president Jamie Kensley.
"The minute you increase availability, you're increasing social risk and health harm," said Kensley. "The results and numbers show that alcohol-related deaths go up, and the did in British Columbia when they privatized."
Safety of minors is at the forefront of OPSEU's push to keep the LCBO public, in addition to maintaining the massive revenue that it generates for the province at close to $2 billion annually.
"Where's that money going to come from if it's privatized?" said Kensley.
"Sure, we have people coming up to us and telling us that this is about protecting our jobs, and that's fair, absolutely we want to protect our jobs but the bigger picture is the other things we're speaking of."
