Rachel Notley announces immediate halt to BC wine imports amid pipeline dispute
BC wine will cease its flow into Alberta, as Alberta Premier Rachel Notley announced that the province will be immediately halting any BC wine imports.
The announcement was made following a dispute between BC and Alberta that began with the BC government announcing restrictions on bitumen transports – a move that would stall the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.
In the days that followed, Notley announced an end to talks regarding the purchase of electricity from BC, BC Premier John Horgan stated his surprise at Alberta’s response to the restrictions, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised in a radio interview on the Ryan Jespersen Show that the pipeline would be built.
Notley has called on Trudeau and the federal government to intervene in the conflict, and most recently announced in a Tuesday press conference that the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission will no longer be importing BC wine into the province.
“The wine industry is important to BC,” Notley said in a tweet following the press conference. “Not nearly as important as [the] energy industry is to Alberta and Canada, but important nonetheless.”
Notley estimated that roughly $70 million per year in sales is paid to BC wineries from Alberta.
“This is one good step to waking BC up to the fact they can’t attack our industry without a response from us,” tweeted Notley.
“This action will harm the BC wine industry, and I wish it didn’t have to be this way…We don’t take this lightly.”
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