Summerhill Winery will lose 15 per cent of its business if B.C. wine exports are barred from Alberta, but CEO Ezra Cipes doesnsa国际传媒檛 have sour grapes.
After considering Alberta premier Rachel Notleysa国际传媒檚 wine ban, he spoke to the vineyardsa国际传媒檚 bistro chef and asked him to source some grass fed Alberta bison for their menu.
Itsa国际传媒檚 a symbolic gesture, but one he hopes will resonate with both consumers and industry insiders who are being caught in a tug-of-war between politicians.
sa国际传媒淚 think everybody within the wine industry is feeling disheartened. We consider ourselves to be Canadian. We sell Canadian wine and we love Albertasa国际传媒 number of wineries in B.C. are actually owned by Albertans,sa国际传媒� Cipes said.
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sa国际传媒淚 just hope everybody is just appreciative of whatsa国际传媒檚 happening around them and the culture thatsa国际传媒檚 being created. We should choose to support each other.sa国际传媒�
Consumer support is going to be increasingly important if Notley goes through with the wine ban.
LETTER: ALBERTA IS WINNING THE WINE WAR
Larger scale wineries that ship their goods to Alberta see crates of wine delivered to a central government-controlled distribution warehouse. From there all independent restaurants and retailers purchase what they needsa国际传媒� so Notley is effectively pulling up the drawbridge and blocking $160 million a year in retail sales, according to a sales estimate from the BC Wine Institute.
Shesa国际传媒檚 also whipping up dissent that is affecting those who donsa国际传媒檛 tap into the same market as the Summerhills of the industry and export to Alberta on a smaller scale.
Jak Meyer is the owner of Meyer Winery in Okanagan Falls, which is poised to lose about three per cent of business under current conditions.
RELATED: DID THIS START IT ALL?
sa国际传媒淲e have had a few wine club members drop out just in the last few days, so those are people we were shipping wine directly to. I wouldnsa国际传媒檛 be surprised if, unfortunately, I saw a few more leave,sa国际传媒� Meyer said.
Having lived 17 years in Edmonton before investing in the wine business, Meyer has many friends in the oil industry. His own father worked 50 years in oil.
sa国际传媒淚 get why they are so upset, but I donsa国际传媒檛 think this is the right tactic. They can get their point across without harming anyone, but I guess any Alberta businesses could argue that we are doing the same thing,sa国际传媒� he said.
The wine war was sparked when B.C. Premier John Horgan announced Jan. 30 that his government would halt the flow of diluted bitumen through the Trans Mountain pipeline pending the outcome of what amounts to an environmental review. The pipeline expansion has an estimated worth of $7.4 billion and over the construction period is expected to add 15,000 construction jobs and 37,000 indirect and direct jobs.
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Beyond pinots and pipelines, B.C. and Alberta already have the two most integrated provincial economies in the country sa国际传媒� estimated at about $30 to $35-billion combined.
In addition to financial ties, there are strong cultural bonds with residents often living in B.C. and working in Alberta. A large portion of the Okanagansa国际传媒檚 real estate market is tied to individuals who do just that.
That inter-connectedness between Alberta and the Okanagan, as well as a little political opportunism is what likely put the wine industry in Notleysa国际传媒檚 crosshairs, says a UBC Okanagan assistant professor of economics.
sa国际传媒淥n the coast (of B.C.) theysa国际传媒檙e sipping wine and not worrying about their jobs,sa国际传媒� said Ross Hickey, from UBC Okanagan.
And thatsa国际传媒檚 why Notley is eyeing up the Okanagan and its exports, he said. Theresa国际传媒檚 not much she can do to influence change in B.C.sa国际传媒檚 political hubs right now, but the Kelowna West riding is up for grabs Feb. 14sa国际传媒攖he same day the wine ban goes into effectsa国际传媒攁nd the disruption shesa国际传媒檚 causing may be directly related to that.
sa国际传媒淣otley knows that Horgan and Green leader Andrew Weaver need to win support and seats if they want stable governance,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淭hey cansa国际传媒檛 rely on coastal voters for all of that and shesa国际传媒檚 targeting pain where the B.C. government wants stability. This is a great time for Notley to do this.sa国际传媒�
Hickey said he doesnsa国际传媒檛 see it going much further, however. Itsa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒渇oolish and illegalsa国际传媒� by his estimates. Alberta could face $5 million in fines for violating the New West Partnership Trade Agreement, and there are more agreements being stepped on, said Hickey.
sa国际传媒淲ith the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement, the provinces agreed there shouldnsa国际传媒檛 be trade barriers of goods and services between Alberta and B.C.,sa国际传媒� said Hickey. sa国际传媒淭he exceptions to that rule occur in the case of environmental protections. What the B.C. government is doing isnsa国际传媒檛 prohibiting trade and flow of tradesa国际传媒hey want to review environmental policy that would apply to the bitumen products that Alberta exports.sa国际传媒�
Hickey said that the question at play is simply if bitumen were to spill from a future pipeline, who is on the hook to clean it up.
sa国际传媒淥ur province has to be responsible and do its due diligence,sa国际传媒� he said, adding if Alberta were to approach B.C. hat in hand and offer to foot the bill, the review process would go away.
sa国际传媒淭he trade and labour agreement we signed with Alberta allows us to do that to protect our environment. What it doesnsa国际传媒檛 allow us to do is ban Alberta beef because wesa国际传媒檙e mad.sa国际传媒�
Similarly, he said, it doesnsa国际传媒檛 allow the Alberta government to say sa国际传媒渨esa国际传媒檙e unhappy so we arensa国际传媒檛 playing by the rules.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 foolish and childish,sa国际传媒� said Hickey. sa国际传媒淭his is just a show. There is so much surplus being generated by the trade flow, that in the long term we will see the return of happy trade. sa国际传媒�
Hickey isnsa国际传媒檛 the only one who thinks Notleysa国际传媒檚 trade war is childish.
Josh Jamroziak is the manager of Blink Restaurant and Bar in Calgary and said he thinks the whole thing lacks merit and could even hurt local business.
sa国际传媒淚 think itsa国际传媒檚 pretty childish. We do sell B.C. wines here, especially to tourists,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淏.C. wines have made such a big name for themselves worldwide, when the tourists come in they always want to try it. If we donsa国际传媒檛 have that anymore then the opportunity is gone for us.sa国际传媒�
