The National Post reports in its Thursday, July 11, edition that Premier Doug Ford said Wednesday that Ontario will not budge on its plan to sell ready-to-drink cocktails at convenience and grocery stores across the province. A Canadian Press dispatch to the Post reports that the issue has become a sticking point in a continuing strike by liquor store workers. Workers at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario went on strike last week, an action their union says is about Premier Ford's plans to expand alcohol sales rather than wages. Grocery stores that already sell beer and wine will be able to sell ready-to-drink cocktails starting Aug. 1, and convenience stores can start selling beer, wine, cider and ready-to-drink cocktails, also called RTD, on Sept. 5. Premier Ford said: "RTD is off the table. Let me be very clear: it's done, it's gone, that ship has sailed and it's halfway across Lake Ontario." Previous rounds of alcohol market expansion in Ontario have kept sales of spirits in the hands of the LCBO. The Ontario Public Service Employees Union, representing LCBO workers, believes that the next step in alcohol expansion will threaten workers' jobs and the LCBO's existence.