Liquor store closure 'stinks'

By Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 28, 2006


The surprise Jan. 21 closure of the government liquor store at Kensington Mall has left Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan and the president of the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union crying foul.

The closure was announced with five days' notice and on the same day that the provincial government began bargaining a new master agreement with the largest labour union in the province.

"I think it's really disappointing," said Corrigan, who has been a staunch supporter of public liquor stores in B.C. "The way the government has handled the liquor industry has been absolutely disgusting. It's been a series of errors and missteps, and they really should be ashamed of how they've handled this."

But Burnaby North Liberal MLA Richard Lee said he believes the government is planning to reopen a new, larger government liquor store in the neighbourhood, similar to the signature store that opened at the new HighGate Village complex in South Burnaby last year.

"My understanding is that the (liquor distribution) branch and the landlord cannot agree on the lease," Lee said Monday afternoon. "So now the branch is looking for another location near Kensington Mall to have a signature store with better services and more choices."

Lee also noted that recent renovations at the mall may have played a part in the closure by increasing leasing costs at the site. However, he also said that all the employees of the Kensington store have been offered work at other sites.

"You can't expect the branch to say they're going to operate in a high-rent area," he said.

In a press release, union president George Heyman said the haphazard closure of the store - the announcement came just one day after employees were told that their jobs would be safe for another two years - is creating chaos for both the workers and patrons.

Contacted later, Heyman said it was difficult to tell if the government had a long-term plan for the liquor distribution branch.

"It looks like the LDB can't tell the people of Burnaby if they're going to allow a fully private system or a full-service provincial outlet that virtually every community in B.C. has stated they want to retain," Heyman said.

Heyman also said the timing of the closure will do little to improve the mood around the negotiating table, as the union begins discussions on its master contract for 24,000 government workers around the province.

"That did nothing for the mood of our bargaining committee, other than stiffen their resolve to increase our desire for job security and push for an end to privatization and contracting out," he said.

Meanwhile, Corrigan noted that this is the second time a private liquor store operator has bought the lease of a government liquor store in Burnaby and then subleased the property on a month-by- month basis until the government store was closed.

"I don't know what's going on behind the scenes, but you've got to admit it pretty well stinks when the liquor distribution branch is not re-leasing its stores and suddenly private sector people come in and lease the store. I think you have to draw your own conclusions of what's going on. I think it's fair to say there's something rotten in Denmark.

"There doesn't appear to be anything but crass politics behind what they're doing."

And if anyone tries to pressure city hall into accepting a private liquor store in the Kensington area, Corrigan said their plan will likely backfire.

"What happened at the Old Orchard store showed that the community was very much in support of the government liquor store and (the public) believes as much as I do that the government must have a place in the retail distribution of alcohol.

"We also have significant support from existing liquor stores and pubs that have beer and wine stores who are very concerned that these new private liquor stores will consistently hurt their business.

"So they (Victoria) have just thrown a hand grenade into something that was not a problem," Corrigan said. "I'm certainly not a teetotaller or about to join the temperance movement, but I want to make sure that the people distributing alcohol in my community are well-trained and working under a supervised system. And I think we have to work very hard to maintain the same standards for local beer and wine stores."

Officials with the liquor distribution branch confirmed they are "examining the retail landscape" to determine an appropriate location for a new signature store in Burnaby, but no decision has been made to date.