Month: April 2011

A flurry of news reports this morning all challenge Canada\’s outdated wine laws and related liquor board policies.

The Globe & Mail has two articles. The first (In the Vineyard, fermenting dissent by Rita Trichur) chronicles the struggles of Ontario\’s small quality producers to get reasonable access to the monopoly controlled distribution system within their own province. This is a timely article because, while British Columbia does provide somewhat better access for its wineries, it highlights the wineries\’ discontent with a provincial government that appears to prefer using short term subsidies to support its wine industry rather than providing a better long term solution through a restructuring of the LCBO controlled distribution system. The second Globe article is by Tony Wilson (Hand liquor sales to small business). It describes the waste of taxpayer dollars that occurs when liquor boards implement minimum product pricing under the guise of controlling social behaviour. I have commented on this short-sighted policy before: all it does is provide suppliers with windfall profits at the expense of consumers. It\’s an easy way for bureaucrats to increase liquor board revenue but it is not intelligent policy. Both these stories raise the broader issue: why are Canada\’s provincial governments still wasting taxpayer dollars on government liquor retail when they are scrambling to fund health care and education? Liquor retail is simply not a core government service. Canadian taxpayers, and wine consumers, should be be concerned about this ongoing issue.

CTV also has a report on Terry David Mulligan\’s previously announced quest to challenge Canada\’s outdated interprovincial shipping restrictions: Outlaw Terry David Mulligan Plans Illegal Road Trip. Apparently, the convoy of \”illegal\” wine shipment is now planned for May 13th (that\’s a Friday … is TDM tempting fate?). Terry\’s plans were also reported in this Vancouver Province news story: Mulligan set to take \’wine bullies\’ to task.

Terry David Mulligan has gone on the record saying that he is willing to risk jail in a bid to reform Canada\’s archaic and outdated wine shipping laws. In this article from Business in Vancouver (Terry Mulligan Willing to go to Jail to Fight Liquor Law), he states that he is planning to have video footage taken of him going to Alberta, buying wine, and bringing it back to BC (which is currently illegal). He then plans to inform the liquor board and ask them to charge him.

TDM\’s plan is also covered in this Globe & Mail story which provides additional explanation regarding the wine shipping problem: Wine Makers See Red over Prohibition-era Law.

The Washington state legislature has approved some minor reforms to its wine laws which will permit wineries to offer tasting samples at farmers\’ markets and for restaurants to waive corkage fees in certain circumstances. The changes also make a consumer friendly change on filling beer jugs. The details are in this Seattle Times editorial: Legislature deserves a toast for new beer and wine laws. Meanwhile, here in BC, the pace of change seems to be glacial. The trade practices reforms (including tied house reform) that started out promisingly about a year ago, are still not effective. And we can only dream about corkage and more sensible tasting policies.