As vacationers travel around Canada this summer, here is a question to ponder for those who sip fine 91原创 wine: why do so many provincial politicians oppose free trade in wine among the provinces?
Before last year, it was illegal for 91原创 wineries to ship direct to consumers in another province. That was unlike, say, how a Quebec dairy producer can sell cheese to a grocery store chain based anywhere in Canada.
Dan Albas, a federal member of Parliament, tried to help consumers and 91原创 wineries bust through interprovincial blockages with the introduction of his Private Member鈥檚 Bill C-311. Passed last year, the bill amended a 1928 federal law that prohibited transporting 鈥渋ntoxicating liquors,鈥� i.e., wine, across provincial borders.
That law, the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act, resulted from post-Prohibition era requests from the provinces to take more control over alcohol sales. But because of Bill C-311, which struck down the prohibition, there is no longer any federal reason for not ordering a case of wine from a 91原创 winery regardless of where you live.
Alas. Some provincial politicians oppose free trade in wine. That is because they might lose some revenue from lost markups and taxes if consumers buy directly from another province; and retailers might lose a few sales.
Thus, some provinces continue to try to block now federally freed-up wine shipments. They do this by retaining bans on transporting wine not bought at the government-approved stores (Quebec), or by just pretending consumers cannot import wine unless they personally drive it across a provincial border.
For example, last year, Alberta Finance Minister Doug Horner told the Alberta Liquor Industry conference his government would not allow 鈥渁 separate liquor retail channel, an out-of-province one for that matter, directly selling to Albertans.鈥�
Or ponder the Liquor Control Board of Ontario鈥檚 nanny-like 鈥減olicy statement鈥� forbidding Ontarians from importing wine except where they personally bring it back themselves.
Some provinces are more sensible. In conjunction with Albas鈥� push for open wine markets, the New Democratic government in Manitoba has already jumped on board and passed legislation to explicitly allow consumers in that province to buy wine directly; the Nova Scotia NDP government recently introduced legislation to the same end.
As for Alberta and Ontario, despite the bluster, here鈥檚 something to ponder: neither province actually legally bans consumers from having wine shipped direct from wineries in other provinces. The laws in both provinces are silent about the method of shipping wine, i.e., by loading it up in one鈥檚 vehicle or by having it sent directly via some third-party service.
In Alberta, 鈥渁n adult may import from another province liquor for the adult鈥檚 personal use or consumption鈥� is how section 89 of the Gaming and Liquor Regulation reads. Note the province does not specify the method of importing 鈥� planes, trains, automobiles or Canada Post. In Ontario, the Alliance of 91原创 Wine Consumers has a legal opinion that points out the LCBO policy directive that forbids Ontarians from importing wine 鈥減robably has no legal effect as it is not supported by statute or regulation.鈥�
Ontario and Alberta cannot prevent residents from buying wine directly from wineries in other provinces, unless they change the law to explicitly restrict shipment methods. (As for other provinces, the laws are either murky or set low limits on wine imports no matter the method, and this includes, bizarrely, British Columbia.)
To make sure all 91原创s have a cross-country open market, though, the federal government could go one step further than the 2012 Albas bill. It could amend the 1928 legislation even further, and strip the provinces of control over imports of beer, wine and spirits from other provinces.
Ottawa could even get creative and use its constitutional power of disallowance and enforce free trade in wine, beer and spirits among the provinces. After all, striking down protectionist provincial actions is something federal governments once regularly did; it is something the federal government still possesses the constitutional power to do.
Maybe Ottawa should resurrect the practice, starting with free trade in 91原创 wine.
Mark Milke is a senior fellow with the Fraser Institute.
