Provinces vowed to open up direct-to-consumer shipments of wine, spirits, beer and other alcohol products by the end of May, but as of June 1, the task remains incomplete.
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B.C.’s wineries, distilleries and craft breweries are still waiting for provinces and territories to tear down the barriers to direct consumer shipments of alcohol that they promised to do almost a year ago.
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Cutting red tape for trade in alcohol across borders was seen as an easy win in the high-profile push for interprovincial free trade. Last July, 10 provinces and the Yukon signed an agreement aimed at implementing new rules by the end of May 2026.
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As of June 1, however, a patchwork of rules remain with B.C. allowing consumers to receive direct shipments of wine from other provinces without penalty, but only inking a reciprocal deal with Alberta so far. And spirits are another matter.
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“I doubt if it’ll happen this summer, so it’s just lost opportunity,” said Mike Raffan, general manager of Township 7 Vineyard & Winery. “We’re in a country under attack. We need to capitalize on (and) take the easy stuff.”
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Raffan, whose winery has locations in Langley and Summerland, wanted to be optimistic about last July’s agreement, but was skeptical that it might just be “political showmanship.”
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“So far, a year later, my pessimism has been justified,” he added.
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Raffan said the simplest thing to do would be for all provinces to just collect sales tax on direct shipments from a winery or distillery, then exempt those shipments to another province without having to flow through the liquor distribution system of another.
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“Every province (is) protecting their monopoly, and frankly that’s a dumb idea,” Raffan added.
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Dominic LeBlanc, federal minister for internal trade, in a statement issued just before the memorandum’s May 31 deadline, said Ottawa has done its part to take down federal limitations with an amendment to the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act.
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“The remaining work lies with provincial and territorial governments, as they look to complete negotiations towards a memorandum of understanding,” LeBlanc said. “It is time to fulfil these commitments and deliver the benefits Canadians and businesses have been promised.”
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In his statement, LeBlanc credited Manitoba and New Brunswick with taking leadership in fully opening up direct-to-consumer sales, and that Ontario and Nova Scotia have made progress with a bilateral agreement.
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B.C. has also made some progress with bilateral agreements on some products with both Alberta and Saskatchewan.
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The province’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food didn’t respond to Postmedia News questions on the matter by deadline.
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One problem with the agreement was that provinces signed on to it without consulting industry, said Tyler Dyck, president of the Canadian Craft Distillers Alliance.
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Dyck, who is also CEO of Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery, which has operations in Kelowna and Vernon, said formulating a deal with provinces that all have different production agreements with producers and their own liquor-distribution monopolies is difficult.
