The Convenience Industry Council of Canada (CICC) responded to Budgets tabled in Manitoba and Saskatchewan today with disappointment.
“Convenience retailers once again feel overlooked in Western Canada. In Manitoba, no action on contraband impacts both government and CICC members. The rising illegal market means that tobacco tax revenues continue to plunge in the province’s Budget. According to a recent Ernst & Young Report, commissioned by the CICC, nearly half (45%) of the tobacco market in Manitoba is illegal cigarettes. Local retailers and the provincial government are losing out to organized crime and stores are closing. In 2020, Manitoba had 947 convenience stores and in just three years, 100 stores have closed for good. Most of those are in rural areas, impacting residents, yet the province does nothing to crack down on contraband,” noted Sara MacIntyre, CICC’s VicePresident for Western Canada.
According to the government’s own data, tobacco tax revenue has dropped from $217 million in 2018 to just $98 million forecast for this year. Unfortunately, that decline is not due to decreased consumption rates, but rather increased illegal sales. The rise in contraband tobacco also fuels organized crime and threatens public safety.
“Saskatchewan is not faring much better. The tobacco tax revenue has decreased so much in that province, that the government is no longer publishing that data. Again, this is not due to declining rates of consumption but rather a ballooning illegal market.
What is even more disappointing is that Alberta just released a comprehensive action plan to tackle contraband tobacco, but their neighbours have failed to even acknowledge the problem. The trend is clear, unless provincial government’s get serious about cracking down on these illegal syndicates, stores will close, crime will increase and government revenues will dry up,” concluded MacIntyre.
Media Inquiries:
Sara MacIntyre
Kelowna, BC
[email protected]
The CICC is a national, not-for-profit association uniting retailers, manufacturers and distributors in the convenience industry who employ more than 200,000 Canadians and sell more than $53 billion annually in goods and services.
