MP Dan Albas is continuing his efforts to improve regulations governing interprovincial wine trade.
On Tuesday, speaking at Evolve Cellars in Summerland, Albas said the regulations affecting wine trade among Canadian provinces need to be improved.
“It’s in total disarray,” he said. “You have so many approaches.”
For example, he said wineries in Ontario can sell in British Columbia, but B.C. wineries cannot sell to Ontario.
Only British Columbia, Manitoba and Nova Scotia allow interprovincial wine imports directly to the consumer.
In July, an interprovincial agreement was signed between Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec, to allow the purchase of wines between the three provinces.
Other interprovincial agreements have also been signed.
Still, Albas said the regulations in many parts of the country prohibit wineries to sell directly to the customer.
These regulations do not apply when wineries sell internationally, he added.
“It shouldn’t be easier to get your product to Tokyo than to Toronto,” he said.
Albas has a petition in place, asking the governments to allow Canadian wineries to provide direct to customer trade.
Since 2012, Albas has been working to improve interprovincial wine trade.
There are more than 320 wineries in British Columbia, with a $2 billion impact on the province’s economy.
