Cautious optimism from BC Wine growers after multi-provincial agreement

Wine Growers British Columbia have welcomed the agreement reached by nine provincial Premiers to expand direct-to-consumer alcohol sales across Canada.

But they caution that it will not, by itself, create a truly open national market as it would also allow provinces to impose liquor board markups, fees, and other charges on direct shipments.

The organization wants to see provincial governments use this agreement to remove barriers, rather than simply replace those with new cost hikes and bureaucracy.

In a media release Wednesday, President and CEO Jeff Guignard said the agreement was meaningful progress on a barrier the industry has been working to remove for years.

“The Premiers deserve credit for recognizing that Canadians should be able to buy Canadian wine directly from Canadian wineries, regardless of provincial boundaries,” he said, while cautioning against new barriers.

Participating provinces must still determine how they will implement the agreement and may adopt separate registration, authorization, reporting, and remittance requirements.