The province is in the midst of deciding exactly how liquor will be sold in Saskatchewan moving forward.
The province started the process launching a review of liquor sales last November. The public consultation concluded with the release of a report in February.
However, the government has not been in a particular hurry to respond to the report by effecting changes so far.
That may not be too surprising because while the system might indeed require a few tweaks, it has served the province rather well.
While government involvement in business has not always had a great track record, through the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority liquor sales have generated a pretty solid return for the province.
The network of provincial liquor board stores have actually been a win-win for the province. On the one hand they generate an ensured profit as the province supplies liquor to the outlets at a wholesale price lower than other vendors receive.
And at the same time good, steady jobs are created through the network.
Drive around the province and liquor board stores are some of the nicest buildings in town, and they do a good job of selling liquor.
Now not every town has a liquor board store, and even in towns that do, people want access to liquor in off hours.
That demand has been met through off-sales, traditionally the realm of hotels.
Again that has worked well, although vendors do lament that liquor board stores hold an unfair advantage based on their access to lower wholesale prices.
In that vendors have a legitimate gripe, although the system was designed to meet ‘off-hour’ demand, which would naturally tend to mean the consumer would pay higher costs based on convenience.
A bottle of pop and a chocolate bar costs more at a lake resort, or small town gas station than at a big box store. That is just a reality of things.
So while the current review should likely balance the wholesale price for vendors and liquor board stores, consumers are still going to pay more for off-sale in most locations.
Now some suggest the liquor board store should just go the way of wooden elevators, but to go that far is illogical since the system generates revenues and jobs.
Ultimately there is no good reason to focus on lower consumer pricing for a product which is completely a matter of choice, not need, to start with.
