The Okanagan’s wine industry is welcoming the removal of U.S. liquor from store shelves at B.C. liquor stores.
“Having some of the U.S. product off the shelves will allow some of the BC products to shine a little more,” said Bobby Gidda, CEO and president of Volcanic Hills Estate Winery.
On Monday, B.C.’s premier announced that all American liquor was being pulled off the shelves amid the ongoing trade war between Canada and the United States.
The move is considered especially important for Okanagan winery operators after last year’s devastating cold snap, which destroyed the majority of crops.
However, it’s the elimination of interprovincial barriers that Gidda said is badly needed.
“Let me ship the product across Canada,” he said. “I’m not shipping to another country. I’m shipping in Canada.”
Wine Growers Canada has been pushing to make trade within Canada easier for more than two decades.
“We can sell to an American. We can ship it to the USA, but we can’t ship that wine to Ontario and it is the year 2025,” said Dan Paszkowski, president and CEO of Wine Growers Canada. “That is ridiculous.”
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However, with the threat of tariffs crippling the Canadian economy, the removal of the interprovincial trade barriers may be closer than ever before.
“It seems like there is the impetus to move quickly,” Paszkowski said.
At last week’s first ministers meeting, eight of the 10 provinces, including B.C., agreed to remove those direct-to-consumer sale barriers.
Paszkowski said on Tuesday that while PEI was not initially on board, the province is now expressing interest as well.
That would leave Newfoundland and Labrador the only province not to participate.
“I think the willingness is there by the eight provinces that have signed on to move forward,” Paszkowski said. “From my understanding, it could be weeks before the borders start opening up.”
Ravi Kahlon, B.C. Tariff Response Committee Chair, said there is a lot of work happening to remove the trade barriers as quick as possible.
“I have never seen provinces come together when it comes to interprovincial trade wanting to bring down barriers so quickly,” Kahlon said.
“It actually gives me hope that not only will we be able to deal with the tariffs that we are dealing with now, but we are going to come out of this much stronger when we went into it.”
Gidda said the removal of trade barriers within Canada would benefit the country as a whole.
“With the threats that we have, it’s not about the individual provinces. It’s about the country as a whole,” Gidda said.
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