No one, save the Saskatchewan Government Employees Union (SGEU), can tell us why the government should still be in the liquor store business. Since when do citizens elect politicians to sell them booze?

Well, since prohibition ended, actually. The 1925 version of harm reduction made liquor legal again—but only in government stores. Call it political inertia, but apart from some timid tinkering, that policy has remained intact the 84 years since.

But wait! There's reason to hope that the long “dry” spell may soon end. It’s not just the semi-private wine stores opening in Regina and Saskatoon next spring. No, the real indication that change is possible is the SGEU’s anti-privatization ad campaign.

The union sees a threat on the horizon that will take jobs out of the public sector and reduce its revenue from union dues. Yet, what’s good for the public union is often not good for the taxpayer.

The television ad promoting public liquor stores is especially laughable. SGEU plays the “public good” card, somewhat indirectly. As the argument goes, public liquor stores play a valuable role because their profits pay for health care, education, and social programs. Viewers are left with the bizarre impression that we should drink like fish for the sake of our hospitals, schools, and welfare recipients.

Fortunately, Alberta’s experience with private liquor retail disproves most counter-arguments. Our western neighbour privatized its liquor stores in 1993 with impressive results. Consumers got the best of all worlds as selection and price improved, as did store hours and locations.

Want proof? By 2001, Calgary consumers had nine times as many stores to pick from as they did in 1993, and Edmontonians had almost seven times as many. Prior to privatization, Alberta liquor stores had just 3,325 products, roughly one-fifth of the 15,433 on shelves today.

Did drunken crime sprees and road carnage ensue? No. The rate of liquor-related offenses relative to the total population actually dropped. And, while Saskatchewan’s per capita alcohol consumption rose 11 percent between 1989 and 2001, Alberta’s actually decreased by three percent.

But all those additional stores, products, and hours of operation did make something else grow in Alberta: jobs. In 1993, 1,300 Albertans were employed either full or part-time in government liquor stores.  Today, private liquor retail in Alberta boasts three times as many workers.

In contrast to government-run enterprises, private enterprises tend to deliver services with a lower payroll, better results, and, typically, without subsidies. Meanwhile, crown corporations enjoy tax exemptions that make their profits deceptive. Take those away and taxation swells government coffers quickly enough.

Don’t believe it? Consider this. Liquor wholesale and retail brought the province of Alberta $431-million in 1992. Yet, in 2002, the province took in $482-million from liquor revenue, despite having reduced liquor taxes four times during the interim.

All of this makes those foolish SGEU ads look even worse. Even if government revenues were the chief goal of liquor policy (a disturbing idea in itself), it's no less reason to keep the public monopoly on liquor retail. It's a sobering thought for a union that wants prohibition--of private liquor sales--to continue.