Canadian Wine Allergen Labelling Rules Effective Saturday

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Written by Mark Hicken Mark Hicken

Category: Labelling and Content Laws Labelling and Content Laws

Published: 31 July 2012 31 July 2012

New Allergen labelling rules for wine in Canada become effective on August 4th, this Saturday. Bottled wine with a vintage date of 2012 or later and all wine packaged without a vintage date must now make declarations on the label in certain conditions:

• If the wine contains sulfites in an amount greater than 10 ppm, this must be declared on the label either in the ingredients or a "contains ..." statement.
• If the wine contains any significant amount of residual protein from the use of eggs (ovalbumin), fish (isinglass) or milk (casein) products as a fining agent, then this must be declared on the label either in the ingredients or a "contains ..." statement. This requirement could be important for wine that is unfiltered.
  

The Canadian Vintners' Association has more detailed information including this Allergen Labelling Fact Sheet and Allergen Labellling Guidance Document.

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Shipping Laws on Wine within Canada

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Written by Mark Hicken Mark Hicken

Category: Shipping, Border, Import, Export Laws Shipping, Border, Import, Export Laws

Published: 09 August 2004 09 August 2004

This article provides a summary of the shipping laws regarding wine (and other liquor) within Canada. This article is updated frequently. However, the laws in this area are changing rapidly so please contact me (or your own lawyer) in order to ensure that you have the latest information. If you are interested in wine shipping issues related to bringing wine from a foreign country to Canada, please see this article: Bringing Wine to Canada After a Trip.

The shipping of any alcohol from one province into another province was previously prohibited by a federal law (which stems from the prohibition era) called the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act (Canada). However, on June 28, 2012 that law was amended by Bill C-311. While the general prohibition remains in place, the Bill created a national personal use exemption for wine subject to applicable provincial laws. In June 2014, the federal government also amended the law to extend the personal use exemption to include the interprovincial shipment of beer and spirits. That amendment was effective June 19, 2014. However, the various provinces have not embraced the spirit of these changes and have created various barriers to interprovincial "direct to consumer" shipments.

The following chart summarizes my views on the ability of consumers to receive "direct to consumer" interprovincial shipments of wine under the laws in the various provinces.

NOTE: the Supreme Court of Canada decision in R. v. Comeau was released in April 2018. Generally, the court upheld provincial legal restrictions on the inter-provincial purchase/import of alcohol as long as they are connected to a legitimate provincial objective other than restricting trade. This decision directly affects the issues discussed on this page. Legal advice may be required on the implications of this decision.

	DTC from Winery?	DTC from Retailer?	Quantity Limits	...	Comments
BRITISH COLUMBIA
	Yes	No	Amount for personal consumption if 100% Cdn wine from winery.		OK for Canadian wine purchased from a winery. Imported wine has different rules: subject to 9 liter cumulative quantity limit and only for "in-person" importation (no shipment).
ALBERTA
	Unclear	Unclear	Amount for personal consumption.		Alberta law says that adults may "import" liquor from other provinces (and other countries) in amounts determined by regulation. It is my view that the only reasonable interpretation of the word "import" as used in these laws (see s.86 of the Gaming & Liquor Act and s.89 of the Gaming & Liquor Regulation) includes both in person transport and direct shipment. However, Alberta amended the regulation (s.89), to make importation from other provinces "subject to the policies of the Board" which appear to be set out in section 3.27 of this manual and which restrict importation to amounts that are personally transported (i.e. not shipped). It is not clear whether this "policy statement" has a valid basis in Alberta law since it may not be consistent with the language in the Act and Regulation. If it does have a valid basis, then the Comeau decision would likely validate the restrictions. However, the Comeau case dealt with provincial laws, not policies, so the situation is unclear.
SASKATCHEWAN
	Yes (from BC only)	No	9 liters.		Saskatchewan is open for DTC shipments of wine and spirits from BC only (not other provinces). An authorization (for the customer) is required from the SLGA which is valid for one year. Maximum quantity per shipment is 9 litres (one case) but multiple shipments are allowed. The customer is required to submit markup to the SLGA upon receipt of the shipment. The markup for wine is $5.25 per 750 ml bottle. See details here: Direct Shipment to Saskatchewan.
MANITOBA
	Yes	Yes	Amount for personal consumption.		Thanks Manitoba!
ONTARIO
	Unclear	Unclear	Amount for personal consumption.		Ontario's laws are silent on the issue of interprovincial importation of alcohol. However, the LCBO has issued a "policy statement" that disagrees with this and says that only "in person transport" is allowed. It is not clear whether this "policy statement" has a valid basis in Ontario law. If it does, then the Comeau decision would likely validate the restrictions. However, the Comeau case dealt with provincial laws, not policies, so the situation is unclear.
QUEBEC
	No	No	9 liters		Provincial law restricts transport of wine not purchased from liquor board within Quebec. Regulations have been issued which allow the importation of alcohol from other provinces but they only permit 9 liters of wine per person and only if it has been personally transported (no direct to consumer shipment).
PEI
	Yes	Yes	9 liters.		It is my view that the only reasonable interpretation of the word "import" in the amended legislation includes both in person transport and direct shipment. The PEI liquor board is stating that it is not open for shipment, only for "in-person transport". In my view, this is not a reasonable interpretation of PEI law.
NEW BRUNSWICK
	No	No			The recent decision in R. v. Comeau upheld New Brunswick's provincial laws that restrict its residents from purchasing and importing wine from outside the province.
NOVA SCOTIA
	Yes	No			OK for Canadian wine purchased from a winery. Nova Scotia announced it is open for DTC wine shipments on June 25, 2015.
NEWFOUNDLAND
	No	No	1.14 liters.		Unreasonably low quantity limit. Use of word "bringing" may exclude shipment. Note that the NL liquor board charged FedEx with shipping BC wine from a winery to a customer in Newfoundland. The case did not proceed after the defence lawyer made an argument that NL laws could not reach a federally regulated courier such as FedEx.

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BC LCLB Warns on Internet Marketing

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Written by Mark Hicken Mark Hicken

Category: Retail and Distribution Laws Retail and Distribution Laws

Published: 05 December 2011 05 December 2011

Wineries and other licensees should be aware that the BC LCLB issued a statement on internet marketing in the October 2011 issue of their “Liquor Line” newsletter which is available on the LCLB website here. The statement warns licensees that the sale or advertising of any liquor product without a license is not legal in BC. It then continues by saying “[t]herefore companies like Groupon or ethicalDeal.com cannot legally include liquor as part of a promotion. Given this, it is not permitted for licensees to enter into and offer these sorts of promotions. (emphasis added)” This wording could be interpreted as prohibiting many third-party marketing companies from including liquor as part of their marketing services or promotions when they are working with a licensee such as a winery or retailer.

The question then arises: is it legal for third party marketing companies to work with licensees at all and, if so, what can they do? It is my view that it is legal for third party marketing companies to work with licensees so long as all parties pay careful attention to structuring their relationships correctly.  The issues are basically the same as those faced by the California ABC which recently issued a detailed advisory on these issues (Third Party Providers - PDF) which was created after extensive industry consultation and legal advice. It’s my opinion that the analysis in the California advisory is well done and should also be applicable to British Columbia.

I have confirmed with the BC LCLB that their statement was based on an analysis of the ‘default’ method of Groupon promotion under which the marketing company processes and is an integral part of the sale. However, there are, in fact, many other methods of structuring internet promotions (some of which may be legal and some of which may not) and the LCLB has also confirmed that “each case must be considered on its own merits”. However, the LCLB has not confirmed that they will follow the same principles as have been established in California and there may well now be confusion within the BC industry as to what is permissible and what is not (as there was in California prior to the ABC issuing its ruling). In the interim, licensees should be cautious about internet marking and should obtain legal advice if they are entering into these types of marketing arrangements.

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Okanagan Water Law for Wineries

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Written by Mark Hicken Mark Hicken

Category: Environmental Laws Environmental Laws

Published: 19 November 2008 19 November 2008

It's already a major issue for wineries in California. I know that faculty at UC Davis are now considering water needs and ability to survive drought as an important factor when selecting rootstocks for new vineyard plantings. Here in water-abundant Canada, this has historically not been a major concern. But an article in Wine Business Monthly Online shines a light on similar Canadian concerns in its review of the Okanagan Sustainable Water Strategy and the implications for wineries in the region. The article points out that winery use of water is a tiny percentage of overall usage and that conversion to drip irrigation is making industry use of the resource even more efficient.

The legal implications of water usage are still generally a backburner issue. However, occasionally, as the article points out, the Province can use its powers under environmental laws to cut off water supplies to users as happened for some Okanagan wineries in 2003 during a drought. In addition, water concerns can block development, whether residential or otherwise (including wineries), if the development threatens to change water usage or conservation patterns.

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