Now more than ever, selling alcohol in hundreds of new privately-owned LCBO Convenience Outlets (previously Agency Stores) and hundreds of grocery stores is bad for Ontario.

Private stores take money away from our valuable public services and put it in the pockets of wealthy storeowners. They increase the risk of alcohol getting into the hands of kids. And they put enormous pressure on our pandemic- stressed health care system, increasing wait times and hallway medicine.

The Ford government’s plan to sell alcohol in thousands of corner stores will make all this even worse.