Advertisements, injunction bid in pipeline dispute

B.C. wine body lays down challenge, Alberta trade minister up for the fight

EDMONTON British Columbia’s wine body is seeking an injunction against Alberta in the ongoing Trans Mountain pipeline expansion trade war.

Trade Minister Deron Bilous says Alberta is prepared to fight B.C. anywhere, be it in court or at a trade tribunal.

The B.C. Wine Institute is challenging the constitutionality of the ban announced by Premier Rachel Notley on Feb. 6.

The institute’s challenge came the same day the Alberta government took out full-page newspaper ads in B.C. outlining the connection between the pipeline expansion and Canada’s national climate plan.

“Despite the current differences between our governments, British Columbians and Albertans share the same goals,” declared the ads, which ran Wednesday in Vancouver-based papers and the B.C. editions of the National Post and Globe and Mail.

B.C. Wine Institute president Miles Prodan said in a statement he regretted resorting to legal action, but the prohibition must end.

“The ban ... is severely harming B.C. wineries and grape-growers, many of which are small, familyowned operations,” he said.

Bilous said Wednesday it shows the B.C. wine boycott is working.

B.C. wine producers have only experienced one week of market blockage, he said, but Alberta energy producers have been waiting for years.

“We’ve lost out on over $100 billion selling our own oil at a discount only to the U.S. simply because we don’t have access to international markets,” he said.

The injunction follows a B.C. complaint lodged Monday claiming the wine ban contravenes the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA).

The B.C. trade ministry said in a letter to Alberta that this province is falling foul of non-discrimination, right of entry and exit, and commercial considerations. The letter copied every provincial and territorial trade department in Canada — and the federal government — on the dispute.

B.C. trade communications director Tasha Schollen told Postmedia her province pursued noncompliance through the CFTA because it believes the alleged breach has national implications.

Bilous welcomed input from other provinces, saying he thinks most of them recognize the pipeline’s importance to the Canadian economy.

The advertisements running on the West Coast asked British Columbians to get onside with pipelines, “the safest, greenest, most cost-effective way to move oil to market.” They also remind Alberta’s neighbours that what goes through pipelines is a federal responsibility — it’s not up to a provincial government.

“This disregard for the rule of law puts our national economy in danger,” they say. “To investors, it makes us look like a risky bet. And it could put an end to the national climate plan.”

The ads ran for a combined cost of $62,000.