Cut interprovincial trade barriers, say Okanagan wineries amid Trump tariff threat – Okanagan

A glass half full.

That’s how the owner of Kelowna’s View Winery is looking at the response by Canadians to the looming tariffs from the United States.

“It’s so important for people to buy local and this is just giving people that reminder,” said Jennifer Molgat, owner of the View Winery.

Many people are now avoiding U.S. made products, including wine.

It’s a change that could give the industry a much-needed boost after several rough years of being pummeled by weather events.

“We need to pull back and support one another right here in our own country,” Molgat told Global News.

But according to Molgat and many others, interprovincial trade barriers are still standing in the way, resulting in renewed calls for changes.

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“It’s easier for locals to sometimes find a special wine from California on the shelves than finding their favourite local wine and that is not right,” Molgat said.

Wine Growers BC said the time to reduce those barriers is now.

“Given what is going on with the United States it only makes sense that we should be able to move wine east and west across this country,” said Paul Sawler, board chair for Wine Growers BC.

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Sawler said the organization is pushing for change, adding that being able to tap into other provincial markets like Ontario would be huge.

“The Ontario market is a 13 million person market,” Sawler said. “There’s a real opportunity there. There’s a real market that we haven’t been able to tap. It would be great if we could.”

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On Monday, B.C. Premier David Eby said that work is underway to help eliminate internal trade barriers.

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“We are supporting business to diversify, that we are kicking down the internal trade barriers in this country that make it easier to trade with the U.S. than it is to trade with Ontario,” Eby said.

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Last summer, after many years of discussion, B.C. and Alberta finally struck a deal to eliminate barriers between the two provinces to allow direct-to-consumer sales.

While it was very welcomed by local wineries, many operators say more needs to be done to make those sales even easier.

“There’s still a lot of regulatory burden and for small and medium-sized wineries that’s tricky,” Molgat said. “We don’t have a huge administrative staff and they need to make it simpler and streamline the process.”

It’s a process she hopes is changed sooner rather than later.

“There’s an urgency right now,” Molgat said. “I believe it will happen. I hope it’s going to happen.”

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