As some of you may know we do not ship outside of BC. This is because of very old Federal Law, the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act. The penalties for violating this Act include manditory prison sentence after a third offence. The Liquor Control Board of Ontario ("LCBO") has recently threathened several wineries in BC for violating this Act. The LCBO has also contacted the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission ("MLCC") and got the MLCC to contact the BC Liquor Control & Licensing Branch ("BCLCL") and had the BCLCL contact several BC wineries and again issue threats of enforcement of this prohibition legislation. We recently received a threatening letter from the Alberta Liquor & Gaming making false accusations against many wineries in BC, for being in violation this law.
Liquor Boards throughout this Country think nothing of participating in the violation of this Act by selling significant amounts of wine, beer and liquor to residents of other Provinces especially during strikes in adjacent Provinces. The LCBO even proudly promotes their violation by publishing the direct results of sales to Quebec residents during a recent Quebec strike in their annual report!
If you think we should have free trade between Provinces you can help by calling or writing your Federal MP, or your Provincial Government Member.
If you live in Ontario we urge you to email your concerns to the LCBO:
Bob Peter, President & CEO Bob.Peter@lcbo.com
Bob Downey, Senior VP, Sales & Marketing Bob.Downey@lcbo.com
If you live in Manitob we urge you to write to:
Don Lussier, President & CEO, Maitoba Liquor Control Commission, 1555 Buffalo Place, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3G 0L9
or call him at 204-284-2501