It's Time to Relax and Open Up Interprovincial Movement of Wine

“I am not a crook.” - Richard Nixon
“Deny deny deny.” –Colin Thatcher
“I just want to buy a bottle of wine.” –Rob Dobson

I always feel a little guilty whenever I go into a Liquor Board Store to buy wine. I’m not really sure why. Maybe it’s all those uniformed government employees watching me. Or the fact that I know I’m going to have to pay a higher rate of “sin” tax when I go through the checkout. Why should I feel like I’m doing something wrong? I’m not. Drinking wine is not a sin!

In fact, I enjoy wine the same way I enjoy art or music. Good wine is the product of a civilization that has achieved a high level of culture, of a society that has transcended its basics needs and is able to develop and appreciate achievements beyond the ordinary. Great art, a beautiful piece of music, or a glass of fine wine all offer an opportunity to relax, reflect or forget some of the mundane worries and cares that we all carry around as our day-to-day baggage. Enjoying a glass of wine with a meal elevates the whole experience and many of us have come to look forward to that part of each day. I say it’s time for our society to finally outgrow many of the supposedly “evil” connotations that have long been associated with beverage alcohol.

I know it’s unlikely that we will soon see our governments deregulate alcohol. All lofty moral considerations aside, sin taxes are simply too much of a cash cow for governments to let go. As such, I’m sure we’ll be subject to monopolies for some time to come. However, our two new specialty wine stores (one in Regina, one in Saskatoon) have been a breath of fresh air and are definitely a step in the right direction. It’s a pleasure walking into the Regina store and not feeling like I’m about to clear Canada Customs. As far as provincial liquor monopolies go, I’d say that the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority is one of the best at being as enlightened as they can be within the confines of their regulatory mandate.

One area where antiquated attitudes about “demon alcohol” are doing a lot of harm is the interprovincial movement of wine. The federal government enacted the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act in 1928. This Act creates the provincial monopolies by establishing that it is illegal for any person to cross a provincial boundary with alcohol. It provides that the only way to legally acquire alcohol is from the government within each province. This Prohibition era law may have made sense back then; but my goodness, don’t you think it’s time to relax some of these restrictions?

British Columbia and Ontario are producing wines that are as good as or better than those produced elsewhere in the world. As Canadians we should be justifiably proud of what our wineries have accomplished. Most of these wineries don’t produce enough wine to sell to the provincial liquor monopolies, but they have created niche markets by using the Internet. Sales at the farm gate can only carry a small winery so far. The low cost and wide reach of on-line marketing has helped keep many family-run wineries viable. Unfortunately, some provincial liquor boards have decided to dust off the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act in an attempt to stop B.C. wineries from sending their wine to customers outside of B.C. (to my knowledge, the SLGA is not one).

Many B.C. wineries have come to depend on customers across Canada and this action restricts their ability to carry on business. If governments are trying to protect their sin tax revenues, this is a petty reaction as the amount of tax dollars being evaded must be minimal. If it’s to prevent minors from ordering liquor on-line, I seriously doubt that kids are ordering wine from these wineries. These are invariably small operations that are focused on premium wines and they are not inexpensive, not to mention the additional cost of shipping. People are certainly not buying wine from these wineries because it is cheaper or easier to get. Whatever the motivation might be for these provincial liquor regulators to prevent interprovincial shipping by small wineries, there must be a way to reach some sort of reasonable compromise. Our governments should be encouraging and nurturing these small artisanal wineries, not beating them down with 82-year-old legislation.