The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday, Sept. 3, edition that starting Thursday, Ontarians will have the option to buy beer, wine, cider and premixed alcoholic drinks at thousands of convenience stores. The Globe's Jeff Gray writes that the liberalization, announced in May, fulfills a six-year-old promise made by Premier Doug Ford, which was shelved after his government retreated from unilaterally scrapping a 10-year contract with the quasi-monopoly Beer Store chain. This week's changes will render Ontario the third province in Canada, behind Newfoundland and Quebec, to allow alcohol to be sold in corner stores alongside chewing gum, potato chips and cigarettes, a common arrangement in many U.S. states and in Britain. The transition, however, has so far not gone down smoothly. It involves paying up to $225-million to compensate the Beer Store chain and its multinational owners to get out of their agreement just 16 months before it would have expired anyway. Critics say the Progressive Conservative government is doling out this cash needlessly, only to rush beer onto shelves in time for a potential ahead-of-schedule spring election. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy says the long-promised changes are a no-brainer.