How 7-Eleven won liquor licences for nearly all of its Ontario locations

The 7-Eleven convenience store chain sidestepped a formal review by Ontario's alcohol regulator to win approval for liquor licences at nearly every one of its locations in the province. 

It means 7-Eleven Canada has the green light to sell beer, wine and coolers for on-site consumption at more than 50 stores once each location passes a routine inspection by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). 

So far, 7-Eleven has only started selling alcohol at two locations, in Leamington and Niagara Falls. 

"We are excited that our licensed restaurant format continues to grow," said Marc Goodman, 7-Eleven Canada's vice president and general manager, in a news release announcing the start of beer and wine sales at the Niagara Falls store in mid-May.

"We're pleased that our adult guests will be able to enjoy a glass of wine or beer alongside their lunch or dinner," Goodman added. 

A spokesperson for the company declined CBC Toronto's request for an interview. However, 7-Eleven gave permission to gather video and photos at the Niagara Falls location.  A visit to the store shows the beer and white wine in locked fridges, and red wine in locked cupboards, all labelled "Employee Access Only."

WATCH | What beer and wine sales look like at an Ontario 7-Eleven

A glass of wine at 7-Eleven? Ontario locations to serve alcohol

1 year ago

Duration 2:03

Two Ontario 7-Eleven locations are now serving beer and wine in-store, and more than 50 others in the province have been approved for restaurant liquor licences.

The licences will allow 7-Eleven to serve alcoholic beverages with food at tables in the dining section of each store. Customers are not permitted to take any drinks off the premises. 

After 7-Eleven applied for the licences in 2021, the AGCO launched a formal review called a Notice of Proposal for all of the company's applications. 

That's a more rigorous process than what the AGCO goes through for the vast bulk of licence applications.  

The AGCO put out Notices of Proposal for less than one per cent of the nearly 7,000 liquor licences it issued in the 2021-22 fiscal year, according to its annual report. 

A Notice of Proposal "basically says that the AGCO intends to review and likely refuse the application," said Harrison Jordan, a lawyer and founder of Substance Law, a firm that specializes in alcohol and cannabis licensing. 

"I was a little bit surprised that every single location received a Notice of Proposal from the AGCO," said Jordan, who did not work on the 7-Eleven applications. "It's typically only when there's a contentious issue." 

7-Eleven fought against the Notices of Proposal by taking its case to the provincial Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT). 

"That essentially took the decision making out of the hands of the AGCO and put it in the hands of the LAT,"  Jordan said in an interview.  

The tribunal approved 33 licences for 7-Eleven without a hearing, and approved 22 others after a hearing, according to information provided to CBC News by the AGCO. A decision is pending from one other hearing, on a location in London near the University of Western Ontario campus.

Tribunal hasn't rejected any 7-Eleven application 

That means not a single one of 7-Eleven's 56 licence applications has been rejected so far. 

Under Ontario's liquor laws, obtaining a licence is what's known as a "qualified right." That means the company or person applying has a right to a licence unless there's proof that it would be contrary to the public interest. The applicant doesn't have to prove their case; it's up to the opponents to prove otherwise. 

The opponents have yet to achieve that in any of the Licence Appeal Tribunal hearings for 7-Eleven locations. In fact, only a handful of the people who sent the AGCO written objections followed through by speaking at a hearing.  

The hearing for a 7-Eleven in Toronto, on Bloor Street West near Keele Street, provides an example. Although 61 individuals wrote to the AGCO with objections, only one appeared as a witness before the tribunal: the neighbourhood's city councillor, Gord Perks.  

"The evidence is that alcohol use is by far the most dangerous drug in our society," Perks said in an interview with CBC News. 

"People are going to use it, but we have to manage how it's used," Perks said. "We shouldn't be expanding alcohol use until there are better programs to support people."

His argument did not persuade the tribunal.  

"It is not for this Tribunal to examine the wisdom of the government's policy choices," reads the decision in the case, written by adjudicator Geoff Pollock. 

"The fact that increased alcohol sales or availability may create social harms is not, on its own, sufficient to deny a person's qualified right to a liquor licence," Pollock continued, ordering the AGCO to issue a licence. 

In a statement, the AGCO pointed out that the tribunal has not rejected any of 7-Eleven's applications. 

"The LAT asked that some licences be issued with conditions, such as serving hours. For others, the LAT determined that no conditions be added," said the statement. .

"All the 7-Eleven applications are moving through the process to receive a liquor licence, as long as they meet the AGCO's strict licensing requirements."

Unfilled promise of convenience store beer sales

Premier Doug Ford's government has liberalized some of Ontario's liquor laws — including allowing restaurants to sell alcohol with food takeout and delivery. 

Ford's Progressive Conservatives promised back in the 2018 election campaign and again in the 2019 budget to allow convenience stores to sell carry-out beer and wine. 

But that promise remains unfulfilled. The chief stumbling block: the province would face steep financial penalties for scrapping a contract that sets out the rules for selling beer in Ontario until 2025. 

The head of the Ontario Convenience Stores Association, Dave Bryans, welcomed 7-Eleven's move to get licensed. 

"It's the first step in demonstrating to citizens and people in Ontario that the world won't end because finally a convenience store with hot food is actually offering you a cold beverage, if you want to sit in the store," Bryans said in an interview. 

Bryans doubts the model of serving beer and wine for on-site consumption will spread to many other convenience stores.   

"Not many people would go to a convenience store to have a hot dog and a beer on a hot summer day, they would rather take it home," he said. 

He is optimistic that the government will soon open the door to carry out sales from convenience stores. "We might just catch up to the rest of the world," he said. 

In contrast, Perks describes provincial policies on access to alcohol as "really out of balance."  

"Ontario's liquor laws are designed to protect the rights of a business owner who wants to sell alcohol. They are not designed to manage alcohol use in a way where we're reducing the harms," Perks said.  

"The community, the public, even municipal governments have almost no rights in saying, 'Hang on, this might be a problem,'" he said. "That's why a company like 7-Eleven can just decide, 'We want liquor licences,' and they get them." 

7-Eleven also has licensed restaurants in 11 stores in Alberta, including some locations in Edmonton, Calgary and Fort McMurray. Unlike the Ontario stores, the Alberta 7-Elevens can also sell beer and wine for takeout and delivery.