Alberta
Province will not allow liquor sales in Alberta grocery and convenience stores
MLA committee completes liquor model review
Minister for Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Dale Nally has accepted recommendations to maintain the current liquor retail model.
After a comprehensive review, the MLA Advisory Committee tasked with evaluating Alberta’s liquor retail model has recommended to the Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction that the province should not move forward with allowing liquor sales in grocery and convenience stores. The review into the potential expansion of liquor sales into grocery and convenience stores was initiated to explore the feasibility and impact of such a change on Alberta’s retail liquor industry.
“The idea of expanding liquor sales to grocery and convenience stores has been mused about for years. I’m grateful for the significant work done by MLAs to look into the feasibility and wisdom of such an expansion and the recommendations they’ve put forward. I am pleased to accept those recommendations and ensure Alberta continues to uphold our current model, which is one of the most open in Canada.”
The committee’s recommendation comes after extensive consultations with industry representatives, business owners and experts. The decision to uphold the current model was made to protect Alberta’s private liquor industry, which has been a pillar of economic growth and job creation since privatization in the 1990s.
“Alberta’s private liquor model is a jewel in the crown and allows small businesses to thrive while providing a wide variety of products and services. I accept the MLA committee’s recommendation to keep a level playing field and ensure the continued success of these businesses.”
“Expanding liquor sales to grocery and convenience stores may seem convenient for consumers, but it would have a detrimental effect on the retail liquor store industry. Our review determined that such a move would significantly harm small businesses and could ultimately lead to widespread closures, job losses and diminished selection for consumers.”
The MLA committee’s findings underscore the strength and diversity of Alberta’s existing private liquor model, which offers Albertans one of the most varied selections of alcohol in the country, along with competitive pricing and tailored customer service.
After consulting with members of the liquor industry and analyzing the economic effects, the committee concluded that expanding liquor sales to grocery and convenience stores would significantly harm Alberta’s existing private liquor retail model. Allowing sales of this nature would likely lead to widespread closures of independent liquor stores, job losses and a decrease in product variety and customer service. As a result, the committee recommended maintaining the current model to preserve the strength and stability of Alberta’s unique private liquor industry.
Quick facts
- With more than 1,600 stores and 36,000 liquor products, Alberta has one of the most open liquor markets in Canada.
- There are no barriers to listing a product in Alberta, as licensed liquor agents can pick and choose any products to bring into the province.
News release from Red Deer South MLA Jason Stephan
Truth is wonderful. We can trust in truth. Truth leads to better choices and more happiness. Yet, there are many lies around us. A failure to comprehend things as they were, as they really are, as they will be, results in bad choices and unhappiness.
Sometimes lies are cloaked in words which distort their true outcomes. One such lie is so called “harm
reduction”. One government program under the heading of harm reduction is “safe supply”. Safe supply is a lie. It is not “safe”.
Another government program under the heading of harm reduction is an “overdose prevention site”. That is a lie also – these sites do not prevent overdoses.
Consider this, if your neighbor was drowning in filthy waters, would you row a boat out, and do nothing,
watching your neighbor flail and choke beside you in filthy waters, and just before he was about to go under, grab his hair as he was about to drown? And then, gasping for air, would you let him go, so that he resumes flailing and choking in filthy waters? What if you kept doing that bizarre thing?
What would be the normal thing to do? Get them out of filthy waters and onto shore, of course. Begin with the end in mind – for men and women drowning in filthy waters of addiction, that means recovery, not drug sites that keep them in those filthy waters.
Supervised consumption / overdose prevention sites are in fact drug sites – where illegal drugs are consumed accompanied with many other bad things.
Albertans did not ask for drug sites in their communities. Government imposed them on Albertans.
As a private citizen, prior to serving as an MLA, I attended packed town hall meetings at Red Deer City
Hall. The vast majority of townhall participants did not want the NDP to impose a drug site in Red Deer. They did anyways.
The drug site in Red Deer has now been in our community for too many years and its impacts are
evident for all to see. Let’s speak plainly and honesty. Drug sites in Alberta are an attraction for individuals seeking to live in drug addictions. Because of drug sites, there are more, not less, individuals living in addictions in communities with drug sites.
There is an exodus of businesses from areas containing drug sites. I have seen it. There is too much stealing, too much vandalizing, too much uncertainty for local businesses, their employees, their customers.
Regardless of good intentions, the truth is that drug sites facilitate a growing lawlessness, including embedding and emboldening criminal elements, which either abuse drug sites or prey on those living in addictions, some of whom support addiction lifestyles through stealing or robbing businesses and families in our communities.
The truth is that “harm reduction” drug sites result in “harm production” to businesses and individuals in our communities seeking to peaceably live their lives, working, and raising their families.
Communities that do not want drug sites should not be forced to have them.
Red Deer City Council, listening to its citizens and businesses, passed a motion to get the drug site out of Red Deer. The Alberta government listened, announcing that the drug site will be removed out of Red Deer. That is good for Red Deer!
Other Alberta municipalities that have suffered with drug sites will follow Red Deer and will seek to get drug sites out of their communities also.
It is good to confront and reject harm reduction lies, get drug consumption sites out of Alberta, and support recovery for those suffering under addiction, blessing themselves, their families, and our communities.
Alberta is the best province in a nation in trouble. Our lives belong to ourselves, not government. The machine is not greater than the creator.
Alberta is a land of freedom and prosperity. We must be vigilant to keep it that way.
Alberta
Province introduces civilian oversight of RCMP in Alberta: Committees to oversee RCMP service delivery
Alberta’s government is making sure communities have a say in how they are policed by the RCMP.
Ensuring Albertans are kept safe is a priority for Alberta’s government, which is why it introduced and passed the Police Amendment Act, 2022 in the fall session of 2022. This important piece of legislation is strengthening RCMP ties to the communities they serve and improving police accountability by mandating civilian governance bodies for municipalities policed by the RCMP. An order in council for the legislation was signed today, with the new regulations coming into force March 1, 2025.
The creation of the municipal and regional policing committees and the Provincial Police Advisory Board will ensure large and small municipalities have a role in setting province-wide policing priorities and performance goals for the RCMP to ensure service delivery reflects and addresses local needs.
The changes coming into force through the amendments and new regulations represent a collaborative effort on the part of municipalities, the RCMP and Alberta’s government to improve public safety in communities throughout the province.
“By creating new civilian governance bodies, we’re responding to Albertans’ long-standing desire for more say in how the RCMP police their communities while advancing a paradigm shift that sees local police across the province as an extension and a reflection of the communities they serve. Unique communities have unique public safety priorities and the creation of civilian governance bodies will address this issue. Creating mandatory civilian governance bodies also ensures accountability, as officers will be held responsible for their actions and behaviour.”
“Amendments to the Police Act support your Alberta RCMP’s ongoing efforts to ensure that communities have a strong voice in their policing priorities. In particular, it will assist our work on local resourcing, responding to calls for mental health and addictions issues, targeting prolific offenders, and dealing with hate crimes. The Alberta RCMP welcomes any changes or enhancements to oversight and governance that help us meet the needs of the communities we serve.”
“Our association’s 265-member communities welcome the provincial government’s effort to build stronger ties between the RCMP and the communities they serve. We hope these policing committees and the Provincial Police Advisory Board lead to improved public safety in communities throughout Alberta.”
Municipal and regional policing committees
Communities with municipal policing contracts and populations of more than 15,000 will be required to appoint municipal policing committees to oversee RCMP service delivery for their area. These committees will work with elected municipal officials to set policing priorities for the community, report on initiatives to support those goals, and create safety plans with their local RCMP detachments, authorities and agencies.
RCMP-policed communities with populations between 5,000 and 15,000 will be represented by regional policing committees to which they will be required to recruit and appoint members. These civilian committees will represent the interests and concerns of the public to the RCMP leadership in their district, work with local officials to identify and address public safety concerns for their region, and report on the implementation of programs and services to address them.
The Provincial Police Advisory Board
Small and rural communities policed by the RCMP with populations under 5,000 will be represented by a new advisory board. The Provincial Police Advisory Board will represent the interests and concerns of Albertans in these communities, support integrated safety planning and liaise with Alberta’s government, the RCMP and municipalities to align policing priorities and resources to help address local concerns and challenges. The 15-person board will include dedicated seats for representatives from Alberta Municipalities, Rural Municipalities of Alberta, and First Nations and Métis communities, as well as community representation for each of the province’s RCMP districts.
Quick facts
- The Police Amendment Act, 2022 received royal assent on Dec. 15, 2022, with the aim of improving police accountability, strengthening ties with communities and enhancing public confidence by reforming existing policing practices.
- The Police Amendment Act, 2022 made a number of amendments to the Police Act, including the creation of civilian governance bodies in jurisdictions policed by the RCMP.
- The Public Safety Statutes Amendment Act, 2024 received royal assent on May 16, and included amendments that allow for the regulation of municipal police committee memberships.
- Both the Police Amendment Act, 2022 amendments and the new regulations created to support these municipal and regional civilian governance bodies will come into force on March 1, 2025.
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