Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s order to the LCBO to reinstate paper bags caught executives at the province’s liquor store by surprise and forced management to scramble for supplies, according to documents obtained by Radio-Canada.
Ford’s move came on a Sunday night in April, about seven months after the LCBO stopped offering paper bags in its 660 retail stores across the province.
In an email sent just before 7 p.m. on April 7, Ford urged CEO George Soleas to “take immediate steps to reverse the decision,” according to documents made available under Ontario’s Freedom of Information Act.
Within hours, Soleas informed members of the LCBO leadership and expressed his surprise in messages to the province’s deputy finance minister and the board of the state-owned company.
“Last night, to my surprise, I received a letter from Prime Minister Ford directing the LCBO to take immediate steps to reverse the decision to remove paper bags from our retail stores,” Soleas said in an email to board members at 9 a.m. on April 8.
“We were confident we could take this step – it was approved by the government,” he added.
“I’m not sure you’re up to speed on this!” Soleas said in a separate email forwarding Ford’s letter to the top official in Ontario’s finance ministry, Deputy Minister Greg Orencsak.
The LCBO first announced in April 2023 that it would phase out paper bags. This measure could save around 135 million paper bags annually and keep over 2,600 tons of waste out of landfills.
Not enough bags to cover the province
Ford’s sudden order to reverse the move was based on the cost to customers of bringing their own bags. “At a time when many Ontario families are already struggling to make ends meet, every additional expense counts,” the premier wrote in his letter to Soleas.
Radio-Canada has obtained internal emails showing how LCBO senior staff reacted to news of Ford’s move, as well as an article in the Toronto Sun that broke the news the next morning.
“I don’t understand, you got a letter yesterday but it’s already in the Sun??” wrote LCBO Chief Information Officer Geoff Cronin in a message to Soleas sent at 7:25 a.m. on April 8.
“The Toronto Sun has already noticed this, so we are being asked to act quickly. We will likely need to issue instructions to stores this morning,” wrote John Summers, the LCBO’s chief retail officer, at 7:11 a.m. the same day.
“We will likely need to procure new bags quickly. We may have some surplus in some stores, but not enough to cover the province,” Summers added in another email two minutes later.
The documents show that the LCBO terminated its contract with its previous supplier when it stopped offering the bags last year. Just two weeks after Ford’s order, the Crown Corporation issued a request for proposals for a new supplier. The deadline for submitting bids was originally set for May 27, but was extended to June 17.
“We are currently reviewing submissions. Once a final decision is made regarding the provider, we will determine when paper bags can be made available to customers,” an LCBO spokesperson said in an email to Radio-Canada.
An email from its general manager to the board revealed that the provincial liquor authority had decided to stop using paper bags for environmental reasons.
“While eliminating paper bags reduced operating costs, the goal was to minimize our impact on the environment,” Soleas wrote. “Paper bags can be recycled, but they are not made from recycled material, so they still have an environmental impact.”
Representatives from Ford and Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy did not provide direct answers to questions about the environmental impact of the move and the lack of advance warning to the LCBO.
“To make life easier, more convenient and more affordable for Ontarians, the government has asked the LCBO to reinstate free paper bags for customers,” Bethlenfalvy spokesperson Colin Blachar said in an email response. “We look forward to seeing paper bags back in stores once the LCBO completes the necessary process of selecting a paper bag supplier.”
