A Toronto convenience store has had its liquor and lottery licenses suspended for selling alcohol weeks before the province officially rolls beer, wine and ready-to-drink beverages out to corner stores.
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), the Crown agency that manages licenses, said one of its inspectors arrived unannounced at an Etobicoke store on Aug. 16.
The inspector found the store was selling alcohol ahead of the Ford government’s official expansion date of Sept. 5. Moreover, they noted the store was selling liquor, which can only be sold in LCBO locations. They also found issues with how the store had purchased the alcohol it was selling.
The store in question, Mabelle Tuck Shop, is located just north of Islington Subway Station beside the Islington Avenue and Bloor Street West intersection. The AGCO said the store’s alcohol retail and lottery registration has been suspended for three weeks.
“As the next phase in Ontario’s expansion of the liquor retail market approaches, the AGCO is focused on ensuring licensees understand and comply with their obligations for the responsible sale of alcohol,” AGCO CEO Dr. Karin Schnarr said in a statement.
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“The AGCO has a wide-ranging compliance monitoring process and will take strong measures to enforce social responsibility and ensure a smooth transition to the new, expanded marketplace.”
The crackdown comes as Ontario moves ahead with its liberalization of alcohol sales, also equipping the AGCO with significantly increased inspection resources.
Since August, some grocery stores have been able to sell more beer, wine and ready-made drinks. Convenience stores will be next to get the green light in the second of three rounds of alcohol expansion.
In October, more grocery stores and other big box outlets will join the approved list of sellers.
It is part of an accelerated deal negotiated by the government, paying $225 million to The Beer Store, to ramp up the locations where alcohol can be bought in the name of convenience. Liquor will remain exclusive to the LCBO but other, lower-alcohol drinks, are set to pop up in other stores across Ontario.
The province has said it expects to add 8,500 new alcohol retailers, particularly convenience stores. By mid-August, more than half the convenience stores in Ontario had signed up to sell booze.
To balance that expansion, the enforcement budget at the AGCO has increased by 25 per cent.
Convenience stores that have been granted licenses can sell alcohol from Sept. 5.
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