will LIQ be involved in this?
The government wants to privatize more than half of the 75 liquor stores it owns.
Under the plan announced Wednesday morning, 40 stores will be sold to private operators, but it won't happen until after the next election.
If the Saskatchewan Party is re-elected, the sales will proceed.
The plan also calls for a dozen new private stores in what the government calls "underserved communities" — including Regina and Saskatoon.
The province says it will continue to bring in the same amount of money from booze by selling it wholesale to all of the stores.
The change announced by Liquor and Gaming Authority Minister Don McMorris is the biggest shakeup yet to the province's liquor retailing system.
In addition to the 75 government-owned liquor stores, there are also private rural franchises, off-sale outlets at hotels, and a small number of private stores in Regina and Saskatoon.
The government has been looking at more private liquor sales for more than a year.
Everything from the status quo to Alberta-style privatization of government-owned stores was on the table. The option outlined Wednesday is somewhere between the two extremes.