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MAY 19, 2016 | Volume 29 No. 60
COUNCIL NIXES WINES ON SAVE-ON’S VINES ANDREA KLASSEN
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
STAFF REPORTER
andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
Did Kamloops council make the right decision in denying Save-OnFoods the right to sell B.C. wine? Send us your thoughts via email at editor@kamloopsthis week.com.
HOW THEY VOTED
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Al Deacon, owner of the Fox’n Hounds Pub and liquor store in Sahali Mall, speaks to council on Tuesday, arguing against approval of a bylaw variance to allow Save-On-Foods to sell B.C. wine on its shelves. Deacon said such a move would hurt his business. In the end, city council agreed and killed Save-On’s bid by a vote of 5-2.
brought in its own restrictions last year to prohibit new stores from opening within that distance from established liquor businesses. Save-On is located within a kilometre of four existing Sahali
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stores, including Deacon’s Fox’n Hounds. Overwaitea had purchased a license from Discover Wines, a former VQA wine store that operated within metres of Save-On in the same Columbia Place/
Columbia Square shopping complex. Deacon told council he believed Save-OnFoods would price existing liquor stores out of business, using alcohol as a loss-leader to bring in foot traffic.
“Grocery stores can afford to make low or no margins on liquor sold in their stores. This is obviously not sustainable for small liquor stores,” he said. On May 1, the provincial government
introduced minimum pricing rules in stores selling alcohol. The lowest price per litre wine can be sold is $8.60, including tax and deposit. See DECISION, A4
Motion: To reduce the onekilometre minimum distance required between retail liquor sale uses to permit the sale of B.C.-manufactured wine products only, limited to wine, cider, and sake, in the SaveOn-Foods store. YES: Ken Christian Dieter Dudy NO: Donovan Cavers Tina Lange Marg Spina Pat Wallace Denis Walsh
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RECUSED: Peter Milobar Arjun Singh
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Calling it unfair competition and a potential risk to public health, Kamloops city council has vetoed a plan to sell wine in a Sahali grocery store. At its meeting on Tuesday, council voted 5-2 against a bylaw variance that would have allowed Save-On-Foods to sell B.C. wines at its Columbia Place store. Voting against the variance were councillors Pat Wallace, Marg Spina, Donovan Cavers, Denis Walsh and Tina Lange. In favour were councillors Ken Christian and Dieter Dudy. Mayor Peter Milobar, who owns Stag’s Head liquor store, recused himself from the debate. Coun. Arjun Singh also sat out the debate because he is related by marriage to Fox’n Hounds liquor store owner Al Deacon, who led the opposition against Save-On’s plan. While changes to provincial liquor laws would have allowed the grocery store to sell B.C. wines within one kilometre of existing stores selling alcohol, Kamloops council