The New Democrat MPP for Windsor Tecumseh is not giving up in his efforts to reopen the Canadian Club Heritage Brand Centre.
Percy Hatfield says he will continue to pressure the new provincial government to change the liquor law to allow brand owners to sell spirits that are manufactured for them in Ontario.
The brand centre on Riverside Dr. in Windsor closed in 2017.
Hatfield tells AM800 News changing the liquor law fits with Premier Doug Ford's messaging of cutting red tape.
"Canadian Club Heritage Brand Centre where the doors have been shuttered and they say they won't open them unless they can sell some whisky after a tour of the centre, well if they are going to cut red tape, that's a perfect spot that would benefit our area and we can get 15,000 people through those doors again," says Hatfield.
The company that owns the centre stated whisky will continue to be produced at the Windsor distillery, but the centre is "disadvantaged" because it cannot sell whisky and it wasn't economically feasible to keep it open.
Windsor-Tecumseh NDP incumbent Percy Hatfield at the official opening of his campaign headquarters on Tecumseh Rd. E. near Banwell Rd. on Wednesday May 9, 2018. (Photo courtesy of CTV Windsor's Alana Hadadean)
Hatfield says the move would also be in line with the province's move to make alcohol more accessible.
"They're going to allow beer and wine to be sold in corner stores and in big box stores and convenience stores, so why not allow some people that go on a tour that may decide to buy a bottle of Canadian Club after going through that building, why not allow them to do that as well," says Hatfield.
Last year, Hatfield sponsored a bill designed to allow whisky sales at the historic Windsor facility, but it never received final approval before the change in government.
The Canadian Club Centre attracted 15,000 visitors a year.