By Brennan Phillips
Special to the Western News
B.C.鈥檚 wine advocacy group says it鈥檚 cautiously optimistic about the tentative end to Alberta鈥檚 B.C. wine ban.
Just as quickly as it was put in place, one of Alberta鈥檚 weapons in the ongoing inter-provincial dispute over the TransMountain Pipeline has been returned to its holster, at least for the moment, as the B.C. government puts its challenge on oil bitumen to the courts.
The B.C. Wine Institute, while pleased with the lifting of the ban, said it is still concerned over the ease and swiftness with which it was put in place. They expressed their worries over the fact the ban had been put in place in retaliation for an unrelated dispute.
Related:
鈥淥ver the course of the next few days, we will confer with legal counsel and our members to determine our path forward,鈥� B.C. Wine Institute CEO Miles Prodan said in a statement. 鈥淲e are, however, thrilled that Alberta consumers once again have the choice to purchase and enjoy B.C. wines, as they have long done.鈥�
The day after the B.C. Wine Institute informed the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commision it would be pursuing legal recourse over their ban on B.C. wines 鈥� following the B.C. government鈥檚 own filing of a complaint under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement 鈥� Alberta Premier Rachel Notley announced the end of the ban.
The Alberta premier did not say the ban would be permanently lifted, reserving the right to bring it back into force once more, depending on what happens with the pipeline dispute.
Related:
The ban, initially filed as retaliation for the B.C. NDP government鈥檚 stance on the TransMountain pipeline, prevented the AGLC from purchasing any wines produced in B.C. The Alberta premier cited the B.C. government鈥檚 decision to seek a constitutional reference case over their right to dictate restrictions over what flows through pipelines in B.C. as the reason for lifting the wine ban.
The fate of the pipeline remains a point of bitter contention between the Alberta and B.C. governments, and it is unlikely to see a resolution any time soon.
