The Progressive Conservative government is looking to make good on its election promise to broaden the offerings of some alcohol to convenience stores around the province.
Finance Minister Darlene Compton has asked the P.E.I. Liquor Control Commission (PEILCC) to identify possible options and implications for expanding the availability of beer and wine through local retailers.
“The work is continuing,’’ Compton’s department said in an email response to The Guardian on the matter, adding there is no time frame for possible implementation.
Norm Clow, owner of Clow's Red and White store in Hampshire, says he is "very interested'' in selling beer and wine.
"It's an added draw to what we have to offer,'' he says.
Clow says tourists regularly ask if liquor is sold in his store.
He notes the nearest liquor store is at least 15 kilometres from Clow's Red and White.
Clow adds he would find the space to add beer and wine to his store's offering.
"I would get rid of my whole hardware section if I had to,'' he says.
The monopoly on liquor sales loosened somewhat in recent years as the province allowed agency stores in areas where there weren’t government-run outlets.
Prices at the agency stores, located in East Royalty, Eldon, Kinkora, Cavendish, Morell, Wood Islands, Murray Harbour and Wellington, are slightly higher than at provincially-run stores.
“We’re pleased with what the liquor agency has done for our business," says Glenda Cooper, owner of Cooper’s Red and White in Eldon, which has been selling liquor for about seven years.
Consumer Shawn Curley of Glenfinnan is in favour of the move.
“I’m not sure why we wouldn’t go that way,’’ says Curley.
“A lot of provinces across the country have already gone that way…it seems pretty convenient…I would definitely buy from convenience stores.’’
Newfoundland and Labrador as well as Quebec have retailed beverage alcohol through convenience stores for decades. Ontario is in the process of expanding alcohol retailing through corner stores.
In the weeks leading up to the April 23rd provincial election, Dennis King, now premier, made the pledge to open up beer and wine sales in Island convenience stores.
King said at the time such a move would come with a condition that 25 per cent of what the stores carry would be local beer or wine.
He said it was about fairness for Island consumers but also an opportunity to promote P.E.I. products and tourism.
There are a handful of wineries in the province and seven microbreweries with Lone Oak Brewing Co. expected to be the eighth to open later this year in Borden-Carleton.
King noted when he made his pledge in early April to open up beer and wine sales that the industry is highly regulated and would continue to be with the PEILCC continuing to monitor it.
He also said the convenience stores would complement the provincially run liquor stores that sell a broader selection of products.
