Details from official sources are a little scant at this time. With the LCBO website saying nothing but

June 24, 2009 12:01 p.m.

The LCBO and OPSEU LBED bargaining teams have agreed to continue bargaining.

All employees should report to work as usual until notified otherwise.

The workers made a last minute decision to put off going on strike stating that a resolution was soon enough in the wind that a strike wouldn’t be nessisary.

CP24 interviewed one customer yesterday during the booze grab blitz:

Toronto resident Bruce Wallner considered it important to hoard some hooch; he spent about $700 on liquor and organic wines to add to his personal cabinet.

“You can’t run out of wine — you’d have to stop eating,” he joked.

I’m glad they’re not striking. I like their selection better than that of The Beer Store. Although you CAN get Steamie there so I guess I’d be okay.

L.C.B.O. workers want more full time jobs. 60% of LCBO workers fall into the casual worker category and earn an annual income of less than $20,800 per year. They also want to nix a management proposal to be able to issue 90-day layoff notices at any time and don’t like the idea of privatization on the L.C.B.O.

Many bloggers and much of the public seem to disagree. There has been a lot of comments about the current L.C.B.O. being a monopoly and even a few calls to strike so that Ontarians will realize that the sale of booze should be opened to the corner stores and grocers.

At least the privately owned Brewers Retail (a.k.a. The Beer Store) will still be open and I have a closet full of home made wine at home so I won’t have to brave any crowds tonight.

Last time this issue came up I was against it. Even praising Dalton McGuinty for declining the thought of selling in corner stores. But after some discussion on A Good Beer Blog I’m pulling off my best impression of a politician and doing a flip-flop.

My first reaction almost a year ago was to think that sellers of cigarettes are already doing a piss poor job of keeping THEM out of the hands of minors and that would just pass on to beer and wine. But I’ve had almost a year to think it over and think over the arguments posed to me by my readers and the readers of A Good Beer Blog and I’m thinking now that it wouldn’t necessarily be easier for kiddies to acquire alcohol in all cases and that the deregulation would end up to be good for the industry little guys.

I’m still somewhat on the fence though. I would like to see beer in my local convenience store but I do still think it would sometimes be easier for kids to get their hands on it. BUT that being said I never really had troubles getting my hands on a beer or 12 when I was under age either and that beer had to come from The Beer Store.

I’m sure if deregulation did occur though that the govt. would surely police it quite strictly for a long time to come.

Here’s what Randy thinks:

“Beer distribution in this province is currently controlled by foreign companies.” Hillier said. “In these tough times we need to give struggling small Canadian businesses like corner stores, restaurants and hotels more opportunities.”

“Dalton McGuinty is costing local Ontario businesses millions of dollars, to the benefit of foreign-owned breweries.”

Hillier proposes to allow corner stores to be able to sell wine and beer. As well restaurants, bars and hotels would be able to sell off-sales to further help their businesses.

I think he’s got a point or two that are quite valid. I for one would certainly take advantage of closer beer and wine (although now I mostly make my own). But I will still have that twinge in the back of my head about some dick-head shop keeper being too lazy to check an ID and some kid ruining or ending someone’s life. We’ve all seen it before though coming from the current system as well. So why am I afraid of this change?

Wait a minute!

How is the star so out of touch? Pre-drinking has been around since the dawn of bars hasn’t it? Here’s a few choice excerpts from Susan Pigg’s article:

Young people are engaging in a “new culture of intoxication” that even has its own buzzwords – “pre-drinking” or “pre-gaming.”

If you’re a confused parent looking for a simple definition, just click on YouTube, or on urbandictionary.com, where it’s described as the “act of drinking alcohol before you go out to the club to maximize your fun at the club while spending the least amount on extremely overpriced alcoholic beverages.”

What is YouTube going to get you from this? Videos of kids drinking?

It’s an “intense, ritualized and unsupervised” drinkfest, in many cases perfectly timed so that the booze hits the bloodstream within minutes of stepping inside the bar,

This is a quote from Samantha Wells some researcher with the University of Toronto and University of Western Ontario who apparently never ACTUALLY went to college OR university because if she had she’d already know all about pre-drinking and have no need for a study.

Also what kind of kids are doing the predrinking? Is it only Bio-Chem. students? How do you “perfectly time” the “booze hitting the bloodstream”? That’s some complicated stuff. “Okay Johnny it’s been 32 minutes since you drank your beers you have to leave for the bar in 3… 2… 1… NOW! Okay Bill you’re up next. But you have to wait 2 minutes and 13 seconds before you can leave.”

But worst of all. WHERE ARE THE PARENTS?!?!?…… Of this of age club bound drinking crowd? Why would anyone imply that people pre-drinking need supervision?

Later on in the article Mrs.Pigg dashes it all on the rocks however with a quote from a bar manager. This quote sends the entire article AND Samantha’s study down to the depths or stupidity by making it all obsolete.

“I don’t think there’s a bar in the city where, on a Friday and Saturday night, people aren’t drinking at home before they go out,” said Jim McCardle, manager of The Madison Avenue Pub. “If it’s excessive drinking, it’s always caught at the door because you can smell it on people when they’re coming in. There’s the occasional one that might slip by, but I wouldn’t consider it a serious problem.”

There you have it. Someone who manages a bar said that pre drinking isn’t a problem.