Conservative booze bill more style than substance, says New Democrat MP
A made-in-the-Okanagan private member’s bill aimed at loosening up the interprovincial flow of alcoholic beverages would have little practical effect, says a rival New Democrat MP who’s under fire for not publicly supporting the legislation.
Dan Albas, the Conservative MP for Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola, in December introduced private member’s Bill C-260, which would amend the Canada Post Act to allow small- and medium-sized businesses anywhere in the country to use the Crown corporation to ship alcoholic beverages anywhere in the country.
Booze shipments are currently restricted by every province and territory except B.C., Manitoba and New Brunswick, so Albas is trying to use a federal act to override those rules.
The bill — which is similar to one tabled by Albas and passed by Parliament in 2012, but effectively overruled in 2018 by the Supreme Court of Canada — would also require provinces and territories to publicly opt out of its provisions.
While the new bill has only been tabled at this point, it has become the focus of a citizen’s petition on the House of Commons website, which had nearly 700 electronic signatures as of Friday.
The petition was started by Ron Kubek, president of the Summerland Chamber of Commerce and owner of Lightning Rock Winery.
Kubek said he’s reached out to Richard Cannings, the New Democrat MP for
South Okanagan-West Kootenay, in hopes of drumming up support for the bill and petition, but fears the issue has been bottled up by partisan politics.
“If we can get Richard Cannings’ support and his agreement to bring it up to his minority partners … then maybe it has a chance to pass in the House of Commons,” Kubek said in an email.
“The problem with the federal Liberals and NDP is that if a Conservative says yes to something, then the Liberals and the NDP say no without even thinking. They don’t even talk to each other,” continued Kubek, who noted Summerland alone has four cideries, 25 wineries, two breweries and a distillery.
Cannings said he discussed the bill with Albas in December and supports its intent.
“I want to say right off the top, I am very much in favour of getting rid of these cross-border restrictions, especially on wine,” Cannings said in an interview Friday
“I want to give (Albas) full credit for being a champion of that and I back him up all the way on that.”
However, “I don’t see this bill accomplishing much in practical terms, other than embarrassing the provincial governments, who still have interprovincial barriers against the importation of wine across their borders,” said Cannings.
“That’s what it’s really designed to