Bill C-262 would allow Canada-wide postal delivery of beer, wine
· Toronto Sun
OTTAWA — If the Mark Carney Liberals are serious about helping Canadian businesses in the face of ongoing trade turmoil, they need to get serious about breaking down interprovincial trade barriers.
That’s the message Conservative Finance Critic Dan Albas is promoting via his private member’s bill C-262 , which if passed would allow businesses to ship beer, wine and spirits from one end of Canada to the other.
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“What it will do is charge Canada Post with delivering beer, wine and spirits across Canada, with no exemptions and no exceptions,” he told the Toronto Sun in an interview.
“It also creates a framework where the minister can immediately designate somebody a trusted carrier, but also allows the minister to create regulations for age verification — the same standards Canada Post uses when they deliver B.C. wine within the province of B.C.”
Bill C-262 was tabled and passed first reading in the House of Commons on March 9.
Bureaucracy, rules prevent interprovincial alcohol shipping
Canada Post considers alcohol a “controlled item” and only permits shipments of “intoxicating beverages” under very specific circumstances.
While it’s possible for licenced producers in certain provinces to use Canada Post to ship product to customers within their own province, current rules don’t allow them to ship to customers anywhere else in Canada.
With the Mark Carney Liberals promising “free trade” within Canada by Canada Day, Albas — who represents the winery-rich riding of Okanagan Lake West-South Kelowna — said his private member’s bill will go a long way to opening up vast markets for Canada’s local breweries, wineries and distilleries.
“I don’t care if it’s the LCBO or the SAQ or BC Liquor Distribution Branch, there’s just not enough shelf space to showcase all the Canadian talent,” he said.
“Restaurants want to have Canadian wine lists now — they may have a few from Ontario, but it just depends on if you’re fortunate enough to be in that province or not.”
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With bars and restaurants across the country wanting more Canadian choices for their wine and spirits lists — particularly in provinces that ban the sale of American booze — allowing customers in Halifax an opportunity to try wine from B.C. just makes sense, he said.
“This supports Canada, Canadian jobs,” Albas said, adding that a lack of government subsidies put Canadian wineries at a disadvantage to those in the U.S. and Europe.
“This is one way to help without having to subsidize them — that’s all they want, they just want the government to get out of the way.”