Workers were expected to be back on the job on Saturday, according to Jean-Pierre Larche, a spokesperson for the Confédération des syndicats nationaux union. The abrupt closing of the liquor stores not only hit spirits consumers hard, but those wanting to score some pot.
This is because, in Quebec, the province’s pot retailer would be an arm of the Société des alcools du Québec, the province’s monopoly liquor-store chain.
As it is, on Friday, supply shortages forced Quebec pot dispensaries to curtail hours, while Ontario’s online store is still trying to clear a huge order backlog. “Because of supply issues, our branches will be open from Thursday to Sunday only,” the government-run Quebec Society of Cannabis (SQDC) said in a Twitter message. “Our branches will, therefore, be closed on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays until the availability of product has stabilized,” it said.
The SQDC said its online store will remain open, with an average of about 30 products available. Delivery will take about two to five days. But then consumers will have to keep track of the revolving postal strikes. With the high volume of online sales of marijuana products, the organization is warning it will take several days longer than usual to get your order.
The Montreal Gazette is reporting that the surprise strike comes after management at the SAQ allegedly threatened employees with sanctions if they walked off the job. SAQ workers have been using pressure tactics, walking off the job and threatening strikes since the summer.
“We tried to warn the SAQ that it was throwing fuel on the fire by trying to break our solidarity,” said Katia Lelièvre, president of the SAQ’s union. “In our union, when the bosses unjustly take on one of our members, they’re taking on 5,500 of us.”
