The B.C. government should end its monopoly over liquor and distribution wholesaling, financially-challenged restaurant and bar owners say.

More than two-thirds of small businesses want to be able to buy alcohol and cannabis from other sources according to a survey conducted by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

The ongoing strike by BCGEU workers has made it difficult for business owners to get enough alcohol to serve their customers, the CFIB says.

“The strike is another blow to business owners who have already been through years of instability,” Kalith Nanayakkara, a CFIB policy analyst, said in a Thursday release.

“Restaurants, bars, and private retailers are especially hard hit by the government’s liquor distribution shutdown. They didn’t start this strike, but they’

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