PCs Vote Against Restrictive NDP Amendments to Consumer Choice
WINNIPEG — Manitoba PCs have voted against NDP amendments aimed at restricting the sale of alcohol across the province while rolling back Progressive Conservative measures designed to expand consumer choice and options.
Bill 8, The Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Control Amendment Act, was brought forward by the NDP after the previous PC government amended liquor licensing to provide Manitobans more choice in where they could purchase alcohol. Convenience stores soon sought licenses to sell alcohol under the same rules as all neighbourhood restaurants.
“The NDP pretend that their legislation protects children from being exposed to alcohol at an early age,” said Spruce Woods MLA Colleen Robbins, PC Critic for Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries. “Perhaps Wab Kinew and his Winnipeg ministers should venture outside the perimeter to rural Manitoba where liquor is sold in grocery stores and pharmacies run by local business communities. The vast majority of alcohol sold outside Winnipeg is sold in small mom-and-pop businesses.”
Bill 8 follows a common trend among some of the designated NDP bills: government overreach. These bills were designated because they needed further examination and consultation, which is what Opposition MLAs did over the summer and fall. PCs reached out to stakeholders and everyday Manitobans who would be directly impacted by these pieces of legislation. In some cases, they recommended improvements which the Official Opposition are happy to bring forward as amendments. When it came to Bill 8, however, Manitobans were firmly against the NDP restrictions.
“The NDP don’t care or know anything about rural Manitoba,” said Robbins. “Kinew’s NDP are picking winners and losers in the retail alcohol sector, and limiting consumer choice. PCs are voting against this restrictive legislation.”
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