The rumour about the Beer Store in South Porcupine being closed can be laid to rest… for now.
The Beer Stores in Cochrane, Geraldton and Nipigon are closing on September 9th. John Nock, president of the Beer Store division of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, says South Porcupine is not. However, it could be shuttered sometime before 2026, when a total of 120 will have closed.
“The employer usually meets with us prior to making any formal announcement,” he explains, “because we end up going and meeting the workers in those locations and identifying what their rights are and what their options are under the collective agreement and Employment Standards Act.”
Nock says store closures are due to the Ford government paying the Beer Store – which is owned by the big breweries – $225-million to allow convenience stores to sell beer now, instead of waiting until 2026.
Cochrane is losing five jobs.
“Especially, you know, in remote areas,” Nock remarks, “where there are no other jobs or very few other jobs, these are good paying fulltime union jobs with benefits and pensions for the fulltime people.”
Nock says prices will be higher in convenience stores, because they’ll have to pay the breweries to ship beer to them. That’s not the case at Beer Stores.
The outlets in Geraldton and Nipigon also close permanently on the 9th.
