Alcohol prices in the territory will now remain untouched in July, after the Yukon Liquor Corp. (YLC) reversed its decision of proposed hikes that would have taken effect on Canada Day.

It comes after representatives of some Whitehorse bars and restaurants criticized the hike, saying they hadn’t been consulted. One even told the Star the business had not heard of anything until media reports on the proposal.

Earlier this month, the YLC sent an email to wholesale licensees from the YLC detailing the planned increases.

The measures would have seen hard liquor rise by an average of more than $2 per bottle, with packed beers and ciders climbing by about 38 cents and draught beers and ciders bumped up by 27 cents.

It’s something that prompted Premier Sandy Silver to clarify last week that his government had not approved any increase to draught beer. He added he would not speak on behalf of other price changes.

Matt King is the president of the YLC who the CBC reported was copied on a June 16 email from a pair of Whitehorse bar and restaurant owners expressing concern over the rising cost.

Speaking to the Star Friday afternoon, King maintained that it was the corporation that called the shots when it came to setting prices.

“Pricing falls to the responsibility of the corporation under the Yukon Liquor Act,” he said, noting that the YLC reviews “pricing on an annual basis and makes adjustments from time to time.”

The act states in part that the corporation has the “sole power and jurisdiction” to, among other things, “set the price at which liquor may be sold at liquor stores.”

Over the last year or so, King said, the corporation had been looking at the impacts of prices on small producers in particular, and he sympathized with some of the concerns.

“Small businesses have more overhead, and it’s challenging for them to compete,” he said.

The email cited factors like freight, supplier pricing, liquor tax other fees and deposits as a reason for the hike.

While King said some of those things aren’t in the YLC’s control, the corporation does decide when to start the process of consultation.

The process of implementing possible changes began with an analysis focusing on small producer pricing back in August 2017, he said.

“This year it took us longer to get there,” he said, noting that “normally when prices are changed, they’re changed often without going back to tell consumers.”

King was unable to provide a reason to the Star as to why there was limited consultation for the price hike that was proposed in the email. He did say the corporation is planning to be more flexible in the future.

“I think we recognize that the process can be improved,” he said.

“Obviously, what we heard loud and clear is we need to do more to give businesses more of an opportunity to review and comment,” he continued.

King was asked whether the June 15 notice would have served better if the planned hike was scheduled for a month later, on Aug. 1. He said, “I think it would have.”

Noting that pricing is a “sensitive subject,” he continued that as a Crown corporation, it does have certain obligations.

“We are responsible for returning certain amounts of revenue to the government as our target,” he said, adding that the act itself also makes reference to this.

It confirms that “protocol about performance expectations” of the YLC are negotiated once a year, and the government can issue directives.

Ultimately, “compliance by the corporation with a directive ... is deemed to be in the best interest of the corporation.”

King said it’s all part of the job.

“That’s part of the connection between a Crown corp.,” he said, adding that the “autonomy to run the corporation” might be impacted as a result.

King did acknowledge that “in the budgeting process itself, overarching budget targets are approved by the government” – which he “obviously respects.”

He noted that the act has been under review since the fall, so the relationship between a Crown corporation like the YLC and the government might be worth looking at.

“In this case, it’s clear: we are going to go back and revise and revisit our approach to draught beer prices,” King said.

Still, he assured that the plans were not for the YLC to gain profit.

“This is not about increasing prices or boosting profitability,” he said.

“We do this with the aim to make sure we’re covering our costs of operation,” he continued, adding that meeting “targeted returns as obligations” to YG is an added bonus.

Ultimately, he said, the notice was “about trying to revise a pricing structure that helps to meet some of those needs” of small producers that the corporation heard, dating back to August 2017.

King said he had not spoken directly to the premier, but is in discussions with the minister responsible for the YLC, John Streicker.

Admitting the corporation may have proposed the changes too quickly, he acknowledged that businesses and bars were frustrated.

“The concerns are valid,” and the YLC will “take a different approach” as a result, he said.

The YLC now plans to make proposed rates available on its website for comment by the end of this month, meaning there will be no hikes for all of July.

King said he expects changes could be implemented for August, assuming the corporation hears and addresses as many concerns as possible.