Rural Manitoba liquor stores running low on stock as strike continues

A liquor store owner in rural Manitoba says her stock is starting to dwindle amid the closure of Liquor Marts across the province amid an ongoing labour dispute.

Brandice Hastings is one of the owners of the Home Hardware in Onanole, Man., which also has a liquor section. She says in recent weeks, people from larger cities have been travelling to her store to stock up on alcohol due to store closures.

“For the past three weeks, my location has been slaughtered by city folk,” she said, noting the shelves have been largely empty.

As part of the ongoing dispute, employees at the Manitoba Liquor and Lottery distribution centre also are on strike, meaning liquor orders are unable to be fulfilled.

Hastings says not being able to satisfy local customers is having an impact on her business. She says not having enough product on hand means she can’t complete orders for golf courses and restaurants in the area.

“Without receiving my orders, they don't get to receive theirs,” Hastings said. “And we lose out on the sale of a glass of wine that can be $10 or $12 on a menu to a bottle of beer that can be the same.”

Hastings said because of the strike, she has had to lay off three summer employees due to the lack of liquor orders coming in.

She said she is hoping for an end to the strike that will be beneficial for the workers.

“Pay them their wages; they're well deserved, because they're above and beyond any member of management, in my opinion,” Hastings said. “They are the employees who are present when a not-so-savvy customer comes in and decides to steal and get cruel and hurt people. They deserve the wages that they are asking for. Absolutely.”

All Liquor Mart locations across Manitoba will be closed this weekend due to the labour dispute.

The Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union says workers have been without a contract since March 2022, and are looking for a wage increase.

-With files from CTV’s Daniel Halmarson