The Manitoba government is promising new efforts to stem rising liquor store robberies, but the union for workers says the government isn’t moving quickly enough.
“We have Christmas season upon us … we know that we’re all going to be going Christmas shopping,” Michelle Gawronsky, president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union, said Thursday.
Justice Minister Cliff Cullen said representatives from police forces, liquor stores and Crown attorneys will work together to find solutions.
The effort may include new ways to crack down on repeat offenders, but details are to be worked out by the group.
“A lot of times, these are repeat offenders and we want to make sure that we have the tools at their disposal to prosecute these individuals,” Cullen said.
The CEO of Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries has said the government-run stores have been “under siege” for more than a year now.
Videos that have circulated on social media have shown groups of thieves walking into stores, filling bags and backpacks with booze and then simply walking out.
One robbery last week turned violent when a thief punched a worker unconscious and left her with a concussion and other injuries.
Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries has beefed up some security measures. New entrances will require customers to show photo identification before being allowed in.
The new doorway has been installed in one store so far and the corporation aims to eventually have similar ones in all its Winnipeg stores.
Opposition NDP Leader Wab Kinew urged the government to pay for police officers to be positioned in every liquor store until it is fitted with the new entrance.
“We know that when you go to a rock concert, as an example, sometimes the promoter will hire police officers to provide extra security there,” Kinew said.
Gawronsky, who met with Premier Brian Pallister on Thursday, said Pallister seemed open to a meeting of store workers, law enforcement officers, social workers and others — a demand the union has made for weeks.
But the idea was dismissed in question period by Cullen as a get-together “with coffee and donuts.”
Gawronsky said a meeting is badly needed.
“Let’s sit down and solve this Manitoba crisis once and for all.”