By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — The consequences of losing Davidson’s public liquor store could be dire, a union rep told town council last week.

Bob Stadnichuk, a representative of the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees’ Union (SGEU), visited council as a delegate during its regular meeting on Tuesday night.

His purpose was to discuss the anticipated closure of the Davidson liquor store, one of 40 public outlets slated for conversion to private businesses.

The proposal is part of a large-scale reform of Saskatchewan’s liquor retail system announced by the province in November, but would only go into effect if the Saskatchewan Party is returned to power in the April 4 provincial election.

Stadnichuk spoke for around half an hour, arguing that replacing public stores with private outlets would have a negative impact on employees, customers, affected communities and the province as a whole.

“We think that public liquor stores serve your purposes better,” he told council. “It’s something that we all have benefitted from, and that’s about to change.”

Between 2013 and 2015, the Davidson store has had average annual sales of $961,000 and operating expenses of $182,000, for an overall operating ratio of 19 per cent, according to the province.

The building itself is owned by the province and was constructed in 1960. The store employs three people, or the equivalent of 1.6 full-time employees.

Cabinet minister Don McMorris said in November the government’s plan was based on the results of a three-month consultation process.

Beginning in April, the province would issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for private owners interested in opening replacement outlets.

The process would be carried out over several months, and no public stores would be closed until the replacement outlets were ready to open, preventing any interruption in service.

Stadnichuk said the government’s plan is based “more (in) ideology than it is business” and predicted that it would result in a significant loss in provincial revenue.

According to SGEU, the 40 liquor stores slated for closure brought in $32.6 million in profits in 2014 — money that is used for infrastructure, health care, education and other public services.

“To put it bluntly, these stores aren’t losing money,” said Stadnichuk, adding that the province is already grappling with a drop in resource revenue, and questioning the sense in closing the stores “at a time that they really need the money.”

The government has pledged that the changes would be revenue-neutral, but Stadnichuk said the replacement stores would need to maintain the same volume of sales, which he believes is unlikely.

He predicted that Davidson’s current store would be replaced by a smaller outlet, likely as part of an existing business. Stadnichuk said a private retailer would likely not provide the same selection, focusing only on top-selling brands, and that customers would not see cheaper prices.

“A private vendor is in it for a profit,” he said. “We don’t understand fully how the wholesale pricing system’s going to work . . . It doesn’t make economic sense, and the plan isn’t there.”

He also warned that the closure of the public store would mean the loss of three steady, well-paying jobs that wouldn’t be replaced.

Stadnichuk alleged that the province has allowed the buildings to decline for decades and is now seeking to unload them, instead of taking on the cost of revitalizing them.

“They just continue to let them deteriorate,” he said, adding that Davidson would be left with another vacant building on its main street, and likening the situation to UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s battles with Crown corporations in the 1980s. “It’s a ploy.”

With expanded hours, he said the private stores may also contribute further to the growing cost of alcohol-related disease in Saskatchewan, or to the province’s high levels of impaired driving.

He encouraged council to challenge the province on the move by passing motions or resolutions, speaking to the MLA or other officials, or refusing to give permission for a private store to open in Davidson.

Stadnichuk said he had recently spoken to Prince Albert Mayor Greg Dionne, whose council rejected the province’s plan to open a new private liquor store there.

“They said, ‘That’s the last damn thing we need,’” said Stadnichuk.

The union rep said he had visited Lanigan the previous week, and also stopped in Outlook and Rosetown on Monday, as part of an awareness campaign on the SGEU’s behalf.

He left some additional information with council members, who were polite but lukewarm in their response to his presentation. No immediate action was taken on the matter.