The president of Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries says a Liquor Mart location will be closed until further notice after a theft that saw several employees assaulted and one sent to hospital.
Manny Atwal, president and CEO of MBLL, said a “secure entrance” at the Tyndall Park Liquor Mart will be built, the first one in Manitoba for a Liquor Mart.
“For well over a year, Liquor Marts have been under siege,” Atwal said.
“We have tried numerous tactics to address this issue, but it’s clear to us that more drastic measures must be taken.”
Similar to a pot shop, customers will have to show ID before being allowed into the store.
In a release late in the day Thursday MLL said the new entrance at the Tyndall location is expected to become operation mid-next week.
Secure doors will also be built at all other locations in the coming weeks and months, according to the release.
“While it will be the first, it won’t be the last.”
“As a retailer that prides itself on customer service and offering a modern, shopping experience, we did not want to impose these measures,” Atwal added.
“However, we have an obligation to provide a safe environment for employees and customers.”
The MLL says locations retrofitted with controlled entrances will no longer allow minors into the stores, even when accompanied by an adult.
A video, which was obtained by Global News, shows males pushing and fighting with security and liquor mart staff at the Tyndall Market location Wednesday afternoon. At one point, one of the males punches a female clerk in the face, and it looks to be unprovoked.
The female clerk was sent to hospital with head injuries.
Winnipeg police told Global News they are aware of the incident and are preparing to release more information Thursday.
MBLL confirmed three employees were hurt in the incident.
“Our employees should not feel unsafe at work,” Atwal said. “They should not have to come to work every day wondering how many times someone will threaten or try to harm them, or one of our customers. This has to stop.”
Liquor thefts have been rampant in the past few years, spiking to levels 300 per cent higher than normal.
Atwal did not answer any questions Wednesday night but said he would do so on Thursday, as well as release more information.
He also reminded customers not to intervene in any thefts.
The head of the Manitoba Government and General Employees Union (MGEU), Michelle Gawronsky released the following statement:
Tonight our thoughts are with our members who were assaulted and injured while doing their jobs today. And we are thinking too about all our Liquor Mart members who go to work each day worrying that what happened today will happened to them, or one of their co-workers or customers.
This situation is completely out of control, not just in our Liquor Marts, but also in private retail stores too.
We welcome the Secure Entrance Initiative from Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries, but this crisis is bigger than Liquor Marts. This is a Manitoba crisis that calls for urgent provincial leadership.
We are appealing to the Province to bring all the key players in our community to the table. We need an urgent summit of law enforcement, addictions and social services, public and private retailers, unions, and the provincial government. It’s going to take all of us working together to get this crisis under control.
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