Alberta Liquor Board (AGLC) Threatens BC Wineries
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- Written by Mark Hicken Mark Hicken
- Category: Latest News Latest News
- Published: 29 July 2009 29 July 2009
The Alberta liquor board (AGLC) has written to several BC wineries threatening them with criminal enforcement action if they continue shipping wine to Alberta. The letter states that shipping wine directly to individual customers in Alberta is illegal under both the federal Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act ("IILA") and the provincial Gaming and Liquor Act and Regulation. The AGLC claims that all liquor shipped into Alberta must be consigned and shipped to the AGLC. The AGLC action raises countless issues, some practical and political, as well as a number of legal issues.
John Schreiner covers the issues from the wineries perspective here.
The various legal issues (including a workaround for shipping and possible solutions) are discussed in this article on wine shipping law in Canada which I have updated to deal with the AGLC's actions.
Wine Taxes & Pricing Article in the Advocate
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- Written by Mark Hicken Mark Hicken
- Category: Latest News Latest News
- Published: 21 July 2009 21 July 2009
Time to Reform Tied House Laws?
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- Written by Mark Hicken Mark Hicken
- Category: Latest News Latest News
- Published: 08 July 2009 08 July 2009
Good article in today's Times-Colonist on the need to reform B.C. liquor laws, specifically the "tied house" restrictions which impose strict limits on business when a person owns both an interest in a liquor manufacturer (such as a winery or brewery) and a retail establishment (such as a restaurant, bar or store). These antiquated laws (which date from post-prohibition times) prevent the owner of Lighthouse Brewing in Victoria from selling his own beer in his own bar, the Podium Sports Grill. They also prevent the Bishop family from selling their own wine (made at Carbrea winery on Hornby Island) at their restaurant at Seabreeze Lodge.
As the article points out, the original purpose of these laws was to prevent vertical control of the liquor industry such that major players would not limit choice at the retail level. However, times have changed ... and there are certainly better ways to address these concerns, even if they are still valid.
Similar laws were the subject of intense criticism in Washington state, which recently reformed them so as to solve issues like the ones noted above. British Columbia could also reform its laws ... it just takes the political will to do so.
Alberta Reverses Liquor Tax Hike
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- Written by Mark Hicken Mark Hicken
- Category: Latest News Latest News
- Published: 08 July 2009 08 July 2009
Cal ABC Warns on Internet Wine Sales
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- Written by Mark Hicken Mark Hicken
- Category: Latest News Latest News
- Published: 24 June 2009 24 June 2009
The California Alcoholic Beverage Control Department (ABC) has issued an advisory warning wineries (and other licensees) that they should be cautious in dealing with unlicensed third parties who offer to promote or sell their products for them on the internet. The ABC notes that some such activities are permissible but, in their view, others are not without a license.
The problems basically stem from the fact that California's laws define the "sale" of alcohol to include (amongst other things) the solicitation or receiving of orders for alcohol. The ABC's position is that anyone who is soliciting or receiving orders for alcohol is engaged in the "sale" of alcohol and therefore should be licensed as a seller (even if the activity is done on behalf of another business, like a winery, that is licensed).
These interpretations raise obvious compliance issues in respect of many internet businesses such as wine clubs and other promotional services that seek to sell wine on behalf of a winery (and who would previously have been relying on the fact that the winery was licensed to make the sale).
This article in Wines & Vines describes the problems and also notes that there are practical issues of enforcement including jurisdictional problems. It's likely that either some legislative reform or a court case will be necessary before the issues are resolved.
British Columbia's wineries may want to give some attention to this issue. Although the Liquor Control and Licensing Act in B.C. does not define the "sale" of alcohol to include solicitation, it does include a similar provision at s.51 where it states the following:
A person must not canvass for, solicit, receive or take orders for the purchase or sale of liquor, or act as agent for its purchase or sale, except as provided under this Act.
As a result of this provision, we likely have similar issues here in regards to whether an activity constitutes a sale or solicitation (which must be authorized under the law) or whether it simply constitutes advertising and marketing. The dividing line between these types of activities likely is not that easy to define and there will be a substantial grey area. In B.C., we don't have the vast array of internet wine marketing services that they have south of the border, so it's much less likely that wineries will be involved in such activities. However, some caution is advisable. Wineries should ask providers of such services if they can provide assurances of the legality of their services and at the very least, it would be wise for wineries to get their own advice before participating in such a service.