The BC government announced a new \”Agrifoods Strategy\” today which includes support for the reform of Canada\’s antiquated 1928 law which prohibits the inter-provincial shipment of wine direct to consumers (see p.22 of the Agrifoods Strategy PDF). The province promises to work with \”its counterparts across the country to open new domestic markets to BC wines\”. The press release also includes a commitment to review \”regulatory and taxation levels\” throughout the sector in order to encourage growth. Regulatory and taxation burdens on wine are closely linked to the province\’s arcane wholesale liquor distribution system which Minister Rich Coleman has also promised to reform recently: see Changes Coming to Wholesale Liquor in BC. Hopefully, more details on these initiatives will be forthcoming. On the shipping issue, perhaps BC will lead by example and take steps to ensure that BC consumers are permitted to import wine from other provinces in reasonable amounts for personal consumption (doing this would require reform of s.65 of the Liquor Control and Licensing Act which currently states that all BC residents should report all purchases of wine made in another province to the LDB and pay applicable markup).
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