WINNIPEG -- Manitoba Liberal Leader Rana Bokhari promised Friday to privatize the province's liquor stores if she wins next April's provincial election.
Bokhari said she would adopt a model similar to one in Alberta where retail outlets are privately owned, but the government maintains control of wholesale distribution and markup.
"This is a win for taxpayers. This is a win for consumers, for restaurant owners and a win for private retailers," Bokhari said.
"It will allow for more selection and better pricing."
Bokhari admitted the move could lead to lower wages for liquor-store employees, who are currently paid above minimal retail wages and are members of the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union.
She offered the workers an olive branch -- loan guarantees if they wanted to buy a store and a job somewhere within the liquor system if they wanted to remain.
The NDP government and the Opposition Progressive Conservatives have both promised to keep government stores. Most liquor outlets in the province are government-run, although there are exceptions such as hotel beer vendors, rural liquor stores and a small number of private wine boutiques.
Some details of the Liberal plan have yet to be worked out. Bokhari was unable to say whether she would cap the number of private liquor stores or allow the market to decide.
The government employees union has opposed privatization on a number of grounds, including an assertion that liquor stores would proliferate and booze would more easily find its way to minors.
Bokhari said she consulted with stakeholders in developing a policy. She said the government employees union had concerns.
"There's a possibility that (the workers) will be earning less money. I don't think that anyone would say that there's a chance that they won't, and let's just call it what it is, they very well may.
"But for the bigger picture -- for Manitobans to have a greater selection, better prices -- this is the model that we've committed to."
The NDP government called the Liberal plan a failure on all fronts that could lead to higher prices because of the addition of private operators in the chain of sale.
"Their ideological fixation on privatization would only hurt workers, reduce wages and raise liquor prices," Ron Lemieux, minister responsible for Manitoba's Liquor and Lotteries Corp., said in a written statement.
The Liberals have one seat in the legislature, but have risen in opinion polls since the last election.
