Saskatchewan makes progress on liquor reforms; still no wholesale pricing for restaurants

REGINA, Nov. 20, 2015 /CNW/ - Restaurants Canada applauds Saskatchewan's plan to move to a private retail system for liquor sales. The announcement was made Nov. 18 by the Minister responsible for the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA), Don McMorris.

The announcement comes as welcome news to bar and restaurant owners, given that Saskatchewan scored D+ on Restaurants Canada's recent Raise The Bar report card on provincial liquor policy, and   puts the province on track for a better grade in 2016.

The SLGA changes include:

• 40 government-owned liquor stores will be converted to private ownership, and an additional 12 new stores will be added.
• All retailers will have the same wholesale prices and operating hours, and can sell any type of chilled product to public and commercial entities.
• Licensed restaurants and bars will have access to a greater choice of products.
• Licensed restaurants and bars will not have access to wholesale pricing.

"This is the most significant change in retailing of liquor in this province since Prohibition," says Restaurants Canada Vice-President Manitoba/Saskatchewan, Dwayne Marling. "That's a big improvement for our members and their customers. Our next step is to table wholesale pricing for restaurants. Given this impressive first step, we are optimistic this can happen."

Restaurants Canada is a growing community of 30,000 foodservice businesses, including restaurants, bars, caterers, institutions and suppliers. We connect our members from coast to coast, through services, research and advocacy for a strong and vibrant restaurant industry. Canada's restaurant industry directly employs 1.2 million Canadians, is the number one source of first jobs, and serves 18 million customers every day.

SOURCE Restaurants Canada

Dwayne Marling, Vice President, Manitoba/Saskatchewan, cell 204-688-8557 or [email protected]; Beth Pollock, Communications Specialist, 1-800-387-5649 ext. 4254, or [email protected]