Open Call for Liquor Retail Employee Training Programs

The Registrar’s Interim Standards and Requirements for Liquor (Interim Standards) legally require that licensees must ensure that the following persons hold a valid certificate demonstrating successful completion of a training course approved by the Board of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO):

• Every person involved in the sale, service, sampling or delivery of liquor or in taking orders for the sale of liquor;
• Security staff employed by the licensee or used by stadiums; and  
• Employees selling or serving liquor from motorized vending carts, as well as course marshals, for Golf Course Endorsement holders. 

It is recommended for all liquor licensees to keep a copy of their and their employees’ certifications. AGCO Inspectors may ask a licensee for proof of a staff member’s certification at any time. 

(Note that sampling is not an authorized action for convenience stores under Ontario Regulation 746/21 (see section 72 for Authorized actions for convenience store licences) under the Liquor Licence and Control Act, 2019 (LLCA).)

Product display requirements are set out in section 89 of O. Reg. 746/21: LICENSING (ontario.ca) under the the Liquor Licence and Control Act, 2019 (LLCA).

  As defined in Ontario Regulation 746/21 under the Liquor Licence and Control Act, 2019 (LLCA), a  “convenience store” means a store,

(a)  that consists of no more than 4,000 square feet of retail floor space,

(b)  in which food products offered for retail sale, excluding prepared food products that may be consumed on site, occupy at least half of the retail floor space,

(c)  that offers a variety of at least five of the following types of food products for in-person retail sale, other than prepared food products that may be consumed on site:

(i)  canned food,

(ii)  dry food,

(iii)  frozen food,

(iv)  fresh fruits,

(v)  fresh vegetables,

(vi)  meat or meat alternatives,

(vii)  dairy or dairy alternatives,

(viii)  non-alcoholic beverages,

(ix)  baked goods, and

(x)  snack foods, and

(d)  that is not primarily identified to the public as a pharmacy, even if a pharmacy as defined in the Drug and Pharmacies Regulation Act is located within the store

Section 85 of the Regulation requires licensees to ensure that their stores continue to be a grocery store or convenience store, as the case may be, within the meaning of this Regulation. Noting that liquor sold at the grocery store or convenience store is not considered to  be a food product, at least 50% of the retail floor space must be allocated to food products.. 

As set out in Ontario Regulation 746/21 under the Liquor Licence and Control Act, 2019 (LLCA), a convenience store licence authorizes the licensee to deliver liquor for a fee from the convenience store. If the liquor is ordered online in accordance with subsection 88(2), the licensee may deliver the liquor to the customer in accordance with the general conditions for liquor delivery set out in section 10 of Regulation 746/21. There is no requirement for food items to accompany liquor delivered from a convenience store.

No. Sampling is not an authorized action for convenience stores under Ontario Regulation 746/21 (see section 72 for Authorized actions for convenience store licences) under the Liquor Licence and Control Act, 2019 (LLCA).