Why Ontario Premier Doug Ford is at war with the LCBO

Last week, Ontario Premier Doug Ford posted a video online with a message for his Canadian province.

It seemed like a typical innocuous political advertisement – Mr Ford sporting a casual black polo shirt and a blue apron, standing at a barbecue grilling burgers, cans of beer at hand.

“It’s summertime in Ontario,” the premier said, beaming into the camera.

Instead, the video was a shot across the bow, with the premier launching an interactive map of local breweries, wineries and distilleries.

It was a strategic move in the midst of liquor labour dispute that has snarled summer alcohol sales in Canada’s most populous province.

For the first time in its history, Ontario’s liquor retailer is on strike. The battle has shone a spotlight on the province’s peculiar and, some say, outdated liquor control system.

On 5 July, the more than 9,000 employees of the provincially-owned Liquor Board of Ontario (LCBO) walked off the job after negotiations for a new collective agreement between their union and Mr Ford’s government fell apart. The LCBO then shuttered all its 650 stores for at least two weeks.

This week, the Ontario Public Services Employees Union (OPSEU) returned to the bargaining table with the province. But talks resumed after another salvo from Mr Ford: the premier has promised to accelerate plans to put canned cocktails in privately-run retailers – the primary sticking point for the union.

For a brief moment on Friday, it seemed the dispute was resolved, after the union representing LCBO workers announced that a tentative deal had been reached that would reopen liquor stores in a few days.

But it backtracked during a scheduled news conference with reporters that lasted just two minutes, during which they claimed that Mr Ford’s government had refused to sign their return-to-work order.

“We were prepared to come here to announce a deal,” said union spokesperson Katie Arnup. “We do not have a deal. The strike continues.”

Soon after, the LCBO told its side of the story: It accused the workers’ union of negotiating in “bad faith”, saying it introduced new demands around money that should have been dealt with at the bargaining table. It also vowed to file an unfair labour complaint against the union, signalling that the fight is not yet over.