Episode 10: Blocking Our Own Wine - What Happened to Free Trade in a Federation? (The Legacy of Prohibition, Part 2 with Mark Hicken)

This episode is about the flow (or actually, the blockage) of Canadian wine within our own borders, and why our home-grown and locally-made wines face internal trade barriers within our federation. Why does it feel easier for Canadians to buy wine from almost anywhere else in the world other than from our own neighbouring provinces? Mark Hicken returns to continue the discussion from Episode 4 (The Legacy of Prohibition - Where are We Now?). A leading liquor policy expert and former “wine lawyer”, Mark was appointed in 2017 as liquor policy advisor to the British Columbia Government and tasked with making recommendations to improve BC’s liquor policy and regulations. Mark has also testified in Canada’s House of Commons regarding aspects around federal wine trade regulations. Tania and Mark discuss how (unlike in the United States, Australia and the European Union, for example) Canadians have to “import” wines across our own provincial borders, and how our regulatory and taxation payment framework could be adjusted to allow for more seamless wine trade transactions (especially given the rise of online “direct to consumer” platforms as powerful sales channels for business). Can the regulator in Alberta really prohibit British Columbia wine producers from shipping their wine directly to wine club members, or other consumers located in Alberta who just want to “click and buy” specialty wine products? How can we operate as a unified country when we continue to face internal trade barriers? Will our regulators, leaders and other stakeholders modernize and step up to unfetter “Team Canada” so that we can support our own small businesses and artisanal products?