Summerhill Winery will lose 15 per cent of its business if B.C. wine exports are barred from Alberta, but CEO Ezra Cipes doesn乌鸦传媒檛 have sour grapes.
After considering Alberta premier Rachel Notley乌鸦传媒檚 wine ban, he spoke to the vineyard乌鸦传媒檚 bistro chef and asked him to source some grass fed Alberta bison for their menu.
It乌鸦传媒檚 a symbolic gesture, but one he hopes will resonate with both consumers and industry insiders who are being caught in a tug-of-war between politicians.
乌鸦传媒淚 think everybody within the wine industry is feeling disheartened. We consider ourselves to be Canadian. We sell Canadian wine and we love Alberta乌鸦传媒 number of wineries in B.C. are actually owned by Albertans,乌鸦传媒� Cipes said.
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乌鸦传媒淚 just hope everybody is just appreciative of what乌鸦传媒檚 happening around them and the culture that乌鸦传媒檚 being created. We should choose to support each other.乌鸦传媒�
Consumer support is going to be increasingly important if Notley goes through with the wine ban.
LETTER: ALBERTA IS WINNING THE WINE WAR
Larger scale wineries that ship their goods to Alberta see crates of wine delivered to a central government-controlled distribution warehouse. From there all independent restaurants and retailers purchase what they need乌鸦传媒� so Notley is effectively pulling up the drawbridge and blocking $160 million a year in retail sales, according to a sales estimate from the BC Wine Institute.
She乌鸦传媒檚 also whipping up dissent that is affecting those who don乌鸦传媒檛 tap into the same market as the Summerhills of the industry and export to Alberta on a smaller scale.
Jak Meyer is the owner of Meyer Winery in Okanagan Falls, which is poised to lose about three per cent of business under current conditions.
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乌鸦传媒淲e have had a few wine club members drop out just in the last few days, so those are people we were shipping wine directly to. I wouldn乌鸦传媒檛 be surprised if, unfortunately, I saw a few more leave,乌鸦传媒� Meyer said.
Having lived 17 years in Edmonton before investing in the wine business, Meyer has many friends in the oil industry. His own father worked 50 years in oil.
乌鸦传媒淚 get why they are so upset, but I don乌鸦传媒檛 think this is the right tactic. They can get their point across without harming anyone, but I guess any Alberta businesses could argue that we are doing the same thing,乌鸦传媒� he said.
The wine war was sparked when B.C. Premier John Horgan announced Jan. 30 that his government would halt the flow of diluted bitumen through the Trans Mountain pipeline pending the outcome of what amounts to an environmental review. The pipeline expansion has an estimated worth of $7.4 billion and over the construction period is expected to add 15,000 construction jobs and 37,000 indirect and direct jobs.
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Beyond pinots and pipelines, B.C. and Alberta already have the two most integrated provincial economies in the country 乌鸦传媒� estimated at about $30 to $35-billion combined.
In addition to financial ties, there are strong cultural bonds with residents often living in B.C. and working in Alberta. A large portion of the Okanagan乌鸦传媒檚 real estate market is tied to individuals who do just that.
That inter-connectedness between Alberta and the Okanagan, as well as a little political opportunism is what likely put the wine industry in Notley乌鸦传媒檚 crosshairs, says a UBC Okanagan assistant professor of economics.
乌鸦传媒淥n the coast (of B.C.) they乌鸦传媒檙e sipping wine and not worrying about their jobs,乌鸦传媒� said Ross Hickey, from UBC Okanagan.
And that乌鸦传媒檚 why Notley is eyeing up the Okanagan and its exports, he said. There乌鸦传媒檚 not much she can do to influence change in B.C.乌鸦传媒檚 political hubs right now, but the Kelowna West riding is up for grabs Feb. 14乌鸦传媒攖he same day the wine ban goes into effect乌鸦传媒攁nd the disruption she乌鸦传媒檚 causing may be directly related to that.
乌鸦传媒淣otley knows that Horgan and Green leader Andrew Weaver need to win support and seats if they want stable governance,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淭hey can乌鸦传媒檛 rely on coastal voters for all of that and she乌鸦传媒檚 targeting pain where the B.C. government wants stability. This is a great time for Notley to do this.乌鸦传媒�
Hickey said he doesn乌鸦传媒檛 see it going much further, however. It乌鸦传媒檚 乌鸦传媒渇oolish and illegal乌鸦传媒� by his estimates. Alberta could face $5 million in fines for violating the New West Partnership Trade Agreement, and there are more agreements being stepped on, said Hickey.
乌鸦传媒淲ith the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement, the provinces agreed there shouldn乌鸦传媒檛 be trade barriers of goods and services between Alberta and B.C.,乌鸦传媒� said Hickey. 乌鸦传媒淭he exceptions to that rule occur in the case of environmental protections. What the B.C. government is doing isn乌鸦传媒檛 prohibiting trade and flow of trade乌鸦传媒hey want to review environmental policy that would apply to the bitumen products that Alberta exports.乌鸦传媒�
Hickey said that the question at play is simply if bitumen were to spill from a future pipeline, who is on the hook to clean it up.
乌鸦传媒淥ur province has to be responsible and do its due diligence,乌鸦传媒� he said, adding if Alberta were to approach B.C. hat in hand and offer to foot the bill, the review process would go away.
乌鸦传媒淭he trade and labour agreement we signed with Alberta allows us to do that to protect our environment. What it doesn乌鸦传媒檛 allow us to do is ban Alberta beef because we乌鸦传媒檙e mad.乌鸦传媒�
Similarly, he said, it doesn乌鸦传媒檛 allow the Alberta government to say 乌鸦传媒渨e乌鸦传媒檙e unhappy so we aren乌鸦传媒檛 playing by the rules.乌鸦传媒�
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 foolish and childish,乌鸦传媒� said Hickey. 乌鸦传媒淭his is just a show. There is so much surplus being generated by the trade flow, that in the long term we will see the return of happy trade. 乌鸦传媒�
Hickey isn乌鸦传媒檛 the only one who thinks Notley乌鸦传媒檚 trade war is childish.
Josh Jamroziak is the manager of Blink Restaurant and Bar in Calgary and said he thinks the whole thing lacks merit and could even hurt local business.
乌鸦传媒淚 think it乌鸦传媒檚 pretty childish. We do sell B.C. wines here, especially to tourists,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淏.C. wines have made such a big name for themselves worldwide, when the tourists come in they always want to try it. If we don乌鸦传媒檛 have that anymore then the opportunity is gone for us.乌鸦传媒�
