Month: 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.

I wrote the wine column in this month\’s edition of the Advocate (which is the magazine distributed to all lawyers in BC). Here\’s a link to a PDF of the column which discusses public policy relating to pricing and taxation of wine in British Columbia\’s retail distribution system. I have also thrown in some wine recommendations which reflect my take on wines available in BC which are actually good deals in terms of global pricing and quality.

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.

In late breaking news this afternoon, Premier Stelmach of Alberta announced that he is reversing the liquor tax hikes that were implemented in the recent April budget. The hikes had added 75 cents to Alberta\’s flat tax on a bottle of wine, increasing the total tax to $3.00 per bottle. Stelmach indicated that he had been uncomfortable with the increases all along.