The push to reopen the Canadian Club Heritage Brand Centre in Windsor has taken another step forward.
A private member's bill, which would allow the owners of the Canadian Club brand to sell their whisky at the centre, unanimously passed second reading at Queen's Park on Thursday. The current owners of the brand centre, Beam Suntory, cited not being able sell the liquor due to Ontario regulations, as a reason for the centre's closure back in March.
Windsor-Tecumseh MPP Percy Hatfield, who introduced the bill, says it's a very important step, but "it's just one piece in the puzzle."
"We still have to get this bill to committee," he says. "It's up to the majority Liberal government to make this bill happen... to bring it back for a full vote by the Legislature."
If passed, the bill would allow heritage brand centres in Ontario to sell booze, as long as the buildings are within 500 m of where the alcohol is manufactured.
"There is no place else in Ontario that would qualify," says Hatfield. "This isn't opening the floodgates to anybody else. This is simply allowing the owners of the Canadian Club brand to sell their product at their heritage brand centre in Windsor."
Hatfield says the heritage centre is essential for local tourism, because of its importance as a piece of Canadian history in Windsor.
"There are Group of Seven paintings all lining the walls in the art gallery in the building. There's a speakeasy in the basement where you can see the bullet holes and the brick walls, [and] where people like Al Capone used to be a regular customer," he says.
"We have 15,000 tourists a year going to that Canadian Club Brand Heritage Centre, and we need to keep that tourist activity in our part of Ontario."
The bill will now be referred to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs. Hatfield says he's hopeful it will then return to Queen's Park for third and final reading before the legislature breaks at the beginning of June.
