St. Catharines MPP told Ford this morning: Yank Russian products from LCBO

Published February 25, 2022 at 3:36 pm

Earlier this morning, St. Catharines MPP Jennie Steven sent Doug Ford a letter asking him to have the LCBO yank all Russian products off the shelves in light of the invasion of Ukraine. By mid-afternoon, the government did precisely that.

About six hours before the Ontario government did precisely that, St. Catharines MPP Jennie Steven sent Premier Doug Ford a letter asking him to remove all Russian products from the LCBO in light of their invasion of Ukraine.

“Earlier today, I called on Premier Ford to remove all Russian products from the shelves of the LCBO,” posted Stevens on social media earlier today.

She continued, “I have spoken to members of the Ukrainian community in Niagara and the message is loud and clear – we all should be condemning the actions against the Ukraine and seeking ways to restrict Russia’s trade to encourage a demilitarization of this conflict.”

Stevens said removing Russian products from the LCBO “is a reasonable measure that we should be taking immediately.”

By mid-afternoon, Ontario’s Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy announced the Ontario government directed all 660 LCBOs around the province to remove all their Russian products from the available inventory.

Apparently, discussions between Premier Doug Ford and a high-ranking member of his Cabinet reportedly began late Thursday after government officials noticed calls for such a boycott were all over social media.

Additionally, the LCBO received comments from many customers who were concerned about the Russian-made products remaining on the shelves for purchase at the 660 Ontario locations.

Earlier Thursday, Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca wrote a letter to LCBO president George Soleas asking that several brands of Russian vodka be removed from shelves as a way to show support for besieged Ukraine.