LCBO President Also Sits on Board of Big Business Group Lobbying Doug Ford to Privatize Alcohol Sales in Ontario

The head of the LCBO is managing a public crown corporation at the same time as he sits on the board of a big business lobby group that is actively lobbying Doug Ford’s government to privatize alcohol sales.

George Soleas, the President and CEO of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, a public crown corporation that generates $2.5 billion in revenue for Ontario taxpayers each year, also currently serves on the board of directors of the Retail Council of Canada.

The Retail Council of Canada, which bills itself as “the Voice of Retail™ in Canada,” is actively lobbying the Government of Ontario to privatize alcohol sales. The lobby group has recently been quoted in press releases issued by Doug Ford’s government endorsing their plans to privatize alcohol sales.

According to lobbying records, the RCC was lobbying provincial government ministries earlier this year on “the future of alcohol policy” – specifically on “how to increase choice and convenience for consumers.”

The Retail Council of Canada’s members include big corporations that would gain a substantial financial benefit from privatizing alcohol sales, including Loblaws, Sobeys, Metro and Walmart.

Corporations with representatives on Retail Council of Canada board (Graphic: PressProgress)

Duff Conacher, co-founder of the public accountability group Democracy Watch, says Soleas’ role serving on the board of a big business lobby group at the same time as he runs a public crown corporation represents a “clear conflict of interest.”

“By being on the board of the Retail Council of Canada, a lobby group for private companies that are seeking changes to laws and regulations so they can sell alcohol, Mr. Soleas is clearly in violation of the ethics law for Ontario government employees,” Conacher told PressProgress.

“He is in violation of the prohibition on being involved in an outside activity that could conflict with his duties as the head of the LCBO, or interferes with or is likely to influence or detrimentally affect his ability to perform his duties as the head of the LCBO,” Conacher said, noting Soleas would also be in violation of other prohibitions if he “assisted in any way in the lobbying activities of the RCC” or “participated in any of the RCC’s decisions concerning positions the RCC has taken on Ontario’s alcohol sales regulations.”

“The head of any public body cannot be involved in any way in a lobby group that advocates the interests of private businesses because it is a clear conflict of interest.”

JP Hornick, President of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union which represents LCBO workers that recently ended a two-week strike, says OPSEU also “considers it a clear conflict of interest” and a “betrayal of the public trust.”

OPSEU (Facebook)

“George Soleas’ conflict of interest is unconscionable,” Hornick told PressProgress. “When people see the connections between Doug Ford’s big business buddies on the RCC and the people they appoint to run our crown corporations like the LCBO, it’s a serious betrayal of the public trust in government.”

“Crown corporations are supposed to benefit the people of Ontario, not big business CEOs.”

In a statement, the crown corporation indicated Soleas joined the retail lobby group’s board because the LCBO is “​​one of the largest retailers and wholesalers of beverage alcohol in the world.”

“In his capacity as an RCC board member, George does not receive any compensation, nor does he participate in any lobbying activities related to the modernization of the beverage alcohol marketplace,” an LCBO spokesperson told PressProgress.

Conacher says he isn’t surprised by the LCBO’s response, but notes this misses the point about Soleas’ dual loyalties as a public servant.

“It doesn’t matter that his role is voluntary because as a director of the RCC he has a legal duty to advance the interests of the RCC and its members,” Conacher said. “The position the RCC has taken on alcohol sales conflicts with the interests of the LCBO so he is in a clear conflict of interest.”

Ontario’s Integrity Commissioner has previously issued rulings forcing heads of public bodies to resign from the boards of external advocacy groups focused on issues in the same areas as their public body, noting this renders them “unable to meet (their) fiduciary duty to act in the interests of either organization.”

Retail Council of Canada (Twitter)

Neither Soleas nor the Retail Council of Canada responded to multiple requests for comment from PressProgress seeking clarification of the LCBO President’s specific activities as a board member of the lobby group or whether he has ever recused himself from any matters before the board.

Soleas also provided no response to questions about whether he ever disclosed his involvement with the lobby group to Ontario’s Integrity Commissioner or had it cleared under conflict of interest rules.

The Office of the Integrity Commissioner told PressProgress it is unable to comment on specific cases, but confirmed ethical matters involving the LCBO’s President are overseen by the Integrity Commissioner.

“The Office does not release information about or comment on matters related to this part of the Act,” said a spokesperson for the Integrity Commissioner, but noted “public servants are free to release information about their efforts to comply with the obligations under the Public Service of Ontario Act.”

On May 28, 2024, four days after Doug Ford announced his government would be speeding up plans to privatize alcohol sales, the Retail Council of Canada named Soleas “distinguished Canadian retailer of the year,” an award honouring individuals “widely respected” by Canada’s business community.

George Soleas, the Retail Council of Canada’s 2024 “retailer of the year” (Retail Council of Canada)

Soleas was named CEO of the LCBO in June 2016 and has also served on the board of the Retail Council of Canada since May 2017.

During Ontario’s 2022 provincial election, the Retail Council of Canada promoted an issue-based website promoting a policy agenda for the retail sector. While the lobby group did not explicitly endorse any party, its position on privatizing alcohol sales mirrored Doug Ford’s Ontario PCs.

The lobby group also released a report in 2019 extolling the benefits of expanding privatized alcohol sales to grocery stores and convenience stores in Ontario.

In December 2023, the Retail Council of Canada publicly endorsed Doug Ford’s plan to privatize alcohol sales, a policy shift that would later force LCBO workers to go on strike.

In March, the Retail Council of Canada sent out an email newsletter featuring Soleas’ photo that claimed the LCBO president “couldn’t be happier” that Ontario was privatizing alcohol sales.

Retail Council of Canada

The newsletter linked to a Toronto Star interview wherein Soleas described the Ford government’s plan to let private stores sell alcohol as “music to my ears.”

“These changes, they’re good for the people of Ontario,” Soleas said. “Competition will ultimately challenge my people to raise the bar.”

Several years earlier, in a different interview with the Toronto Star, Soleas predicted competition with grocery and convenience stores would reduce LCBO’s revenues by one-fifth by 2025, something he suggested put LCBO stores at risk of being unable to “remain viable and operationally efficient.”

Doug Ford’s plan to privatize alcohol sales will cost Ontario taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Now it’s forcing LCBO workers to go on strike

Workers say Ford is helping big business siphon profits from healthcare, education and public serviceshttps://t.co/DXV3R7ShE8

— PressProgress (@pressprogress) July 5, 2024

Doug Ford’s plan to privatize sales of alcohol was the central issue in LCBO workers’ recently concluded strike, the first in its history, with OPSEU accusing Doug Ford of “handing over more of the alcohol market to big grocers and convenience chains like Loblaws and Circle K.”.

“Every big box grocery store has representatives on the RCC’s board, so it’s not surprising that the RCC is pushing on their behalf to privatize alcohol sales,” Hornick told PressProgress. “When the LCBO’s revenues go into the pockets of the billionaire CEOs of these companies instead of public services, Ontarians lose the most when our health care and education systems lose that funding.”

“During the past seven years that Soleas has been both the President and CEO of the LCBO and an RCC board member, there has been more and more privatization of alcohol sales in Ontario,” Hornick added.

“Ontarians deserve an LCBO CEO who cares about the important role the LCBO plays in our province – namely, to sell alcohol in a safe and responsible manner, and to generate billions of dollars in revenue that fund our public services like health care, education, and infrastructure.”

According to the confidential LCBO documents obtained by CBC News, the public crown corporation is projecting that it will lose $600 million to $915 million in annual retail sales as a direct result of Ford’s plan to privatize alcohol sales and an additional $400 million in lost tax revenue.

Despite the LCBO’s hopes to recoup costs through restructuring, CBC News says the various changes Ford’s government is planning will likely “cost Ontario taxpayers at least $225 million” per year.