OPSEU/SEFPO to government tribunal - alcohol in 7-Elevens is a 'dangerous, slippery slope'

TORONTO, Sept. 23, 2021 /CNW/ - OPSEU/SEFPO President Warren (Smokey) Thomas is urging a government tribunal to stop 7-Eleven's bid to sell alcohol because of the damage it would do to our children, our communities, our small businesses, and our public services.

"Selling alcohol at 7-Eleven is a dangerous and slippery slope," said Thomas during a case conference hosted today by the Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT), a government body that can quash liquor license applications.

"7-Eleven is a place where kids and teens hang out to buy candy, snacks and slurpees," said Thomas. "It isn't a place where our children should be standing shoulder-to-shoulder with intoxicated people washing down a Twinkie with a six pack – or even worse, buying alcohol themselves."

Thomas's participation in the LAT case conference comes after he and hundreds of other OPSEU/SEFPO members helped lead the outcry against 7-Eleven's scheme to begin selling alcohol for on-site consumption in 61 of its stores in 31 communities across the province.

They flooded the Alcohol and Gaming Corporation (AGCO) with objections, and those objections helped trigger the involvement of the LAT.

The LAT is now inviting OPSEU/SEFPO members to case conferences to speak more about their objections. Thomas and a number of other OPSEU/SEFPO members are participating today in a conference about the application for the 7-Eleven at its store at Eglinton and Yonge in Toronto. More than 40 of the union's members submitted objections about the liquor license application for that location. Thomas was representing those union members who could not attend today's case conference. The union understands the LAT has held or is scheduled to hold case conferences for applications in other locations.

"I am so proud of all the OPSEU/SEFPO members standing up to this multinational," said OPSEU/SEFPO First Vice-President/Treasurer Eduardo (Eddy) Almeida. "They've got a lot of money and a lot of power, and they're trying to take a big gulp out of alcohol profits in our province.

"But our members know that those profits would come at a great price to the families and communities of Ontario. That's why we're demanding that the government put an end to this nonsense now." 

SOURCE Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/SEFPO)

Warren (Smokey) Thomas, 613-329-1931, [email protected]