QUESTION PERIOD — Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada's Wine Industry
December 10, 2024
Senator Gold, jurisdictions across Canada continue to face interprovincial and inter-territorial trade barriers. In July 2017, the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, or CFTA, came into force with the goal of reducing and eliminating barriers on the movement of labour, goods, services and investments within Canada to establish an open domestic market.
A 2024 Canadian Federation of Independent Business, or CFIB, report entitled The State of Internal Trade: Canada’s Interprovincial Cooperation Report Card provides an overview of the work done to date to reduce barriers. However, it also highlights that significant barriers remain, hindering businesses’ ability to circulate goods and services across jurisdictions here in Canada. The report estimates that up to $200 billion could be added to Canada’s GDP every year.
Canada’s wine industry is one example of a good that continues to be hindered due to interprovincial trade. Canada is capable of exporting wine to major global markets but unable to ship wine across this country. This inconsistency hampers domestic agricultural products.
Senator Gold, what are your government’s plans?
Thank you for your question, senator. International trade barriers have long been an impediment to economic growth, one which this government has tackled head on.
As you are aware, colleagues, in 2017, the government took leadership on this file through the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, and since then, the government has either narrowed or completely limited a third of the federal exemptions, which is providing Canadian businesses with more opportunities to grow and compete anywhere in this country. In 2019, five years ago, the government removed the remaining federal regulatory impediments to free internal trade in wine and other alcoholic beverages.
The only remaining barriers — and they are numerous — fall exclusively within provincial and territorial jurisdictions. They can only be removed by the provinces or the territories.
Thank you. Senator Gold, the CFTA has not delivered what it was intended to. With B.C. dealing with a catastrophic loss of grapes in 2023 after back-to-back bad winters and Ontario now dealing with back-to-back oversupplies, it seems logical that the federal government would choose to help transport grapes across the country. The wine industry is unable to sell their products to other provinces, nor can they sell or share the grapes.
On behalf of the ag industry, I ask you this: Can you tell us how your government is supporting the wine industry?
Senator, the Government of Canada is supporting industry as best it can within its areas of jurisdiction and within its capacity, but any remaining barriers to interprovincial trade in wine and/or other beverages are exclusively within provincial jurisdiction, and this problem must be addressed by provinces.
