The Chronicle
Latest dispatches
13 results across all types
- news
Unaccountability & Canadian Liquor Policy
In the excellent recent book, the Unaccountabillity Machine, the economist Dan Davies argues that large institutions (including government) often produce disastrous systemic results that no one intends (including the institutional participants). Within these institutions, decisions are often dictated by strict policy (often outdated or inappropriate), leaving front line workers to act as human shields … absorbing […] The post Unaccountability & Canadian Liquor Policy first appeared on WineLaw.ca .
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Outdated Liquor Laws Are Sinking Canadian Wine
The Canadian wine industry is facing a Titanic-style crisis. Governments at all levels have failed to remove interprovincial trade barriers that restrict the sale and shipment of wine across most provincial borders. The result is a lost opportunity for significant economic growth and mounting financial challenges for many wineries, particularly in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. […] The post Outdated Liquor Laws Are Sinking Canadian Wine first appeared on WineLaw.ca .
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BC Modernizes to Permit Licensee to Licensee Alcohol Sales
BC’s hospitality industry and private liquor retailers will be celebrating today as a result of an immediate change in liquor policy relating to distribution. Effective today, BC’s private liquor retailers are permitted to sell directly to licensees in the hospitality industry (i.e. restaurants, bars, hotels). Previously, hospitality licensees could only purchase from LDB wholesale, designated government stores, […] The post BC Modernizes to Permit Licensee to Licensee Alcohol Sales first appeared on WineLaw.ca .
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BC Liquor Revenue Projected to Fall
The recent BC Budget projects a deficit of $13.3 billion for the coming year. As part of the Budget process, most branches of government, including the BC Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB), provide updated fiscal plans for the coming years. The LDB has posted its Service Plan for 2026-2028 here. The Service Plan predicts a challenging environment […] The post BC Liquor Revenue Projected to Fall first appeared on WineLaw.ca .
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Proposed ‘Canada Post DTC’ Bill is Not Enough
Yesterday, the Conservatives put forward a private member’s bill (Bill C-262) that was described as being a solution to Canada’s national problems with interprovincial alcohol shipment (DTC). The proposal is described more fully here: Conservatives Want To Make It Easier to Mail Alcohol Between Provinces. You can also read the actual text of Bill C-262 […] The post Proposed ‘Canada Post DTC’ Bill is Not Enough first appeared on WineLaw.ca .
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Initial DTC Details for Ontario-Nova Scotia Deal
On March 2, Ontario and Nova Scotia announced a deal that would enable wineries in each province to ship and sell direct to consumers in the other province. In other words, a ‘reciprocal’ deal to permit DTC … almost 2 months in advance of the target date of May 1st to resolve these issues that […] The post Initial DTC Details for Ontario-Nova Scotia Deal first appeared on WineLaw.ca .
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Alberta Removes ‘High Value’ Wine Tax
The Alberta government introduced its 2026 budget today and indicated that it would remove the percentage based tax on “high value” wine that it implemented last year: see page 61-62 of this budget document which states that the tax will be removed because it created “reduced transparency and business uncertainty”. The percentage based tax was […] The post Alberta Removes ‘High Value’ Wine Tax first appeared on WineLaw.ca .
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U.S. Report Questions Integrity of Canadian Alcohol/Health Policy
Last week, the US federal government updated its dietary guidelines for Americans including its recommendations on alcohol consumption. The update suggested that consuming less alcohol is better for “overall health” than drinking more but also removed specific numerical drink limits implying that moderation should be an individual assessment. At the same time, the US Congress […] The post U.S. Report Questions Integrity of Canadian Alcohol/Health Policy first appeared on WineLaw.ca .
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In BC, Where Did the US Wine Customers Go?
The BCLDB (the government wholesale liquor monopoly) releases a quarterly Liquor Market Review, which often contains useful information on wine sales and trends in the BC marketplace. They recently released the review for Q2 of 2025-2026 which covers off the sales period from July-September 2025. Compared to the previous year, wine sales declined by 2.3% for this […] The post In BC, Where Did the US Wine Customers Go? first appeared on WineLaw.ca .
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Lower Consumption = Lower Liquor Tax Revenue?
My recent review of alcohol sales and government liquor tax revenue reveals some interesting points which may have implications for future liquor tax policy across Canada and elsewhere. Canada’s provincial governments have relied upon liquor revenue to contribute to their general operations since Prohibition. However, that reliability appears to be threatened as declining consumption and […] The post Lower Consumption = Lower Liquor Tax Revenue? first appeared on WineLaw.ca .
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BC Liquor System In Crisis – Time for Major Reform
British Columbia’s government controlled liquor distribution system (BCLDB) is now in crisis mode due to a strike by the BCGEU which has now shut down all of the government liquor distribution warehouses and a significant number of high volume government retail stores. The complete shut down of the system will have serious knock-on effects for […] The post BC Liquor System In Crisis – Time for Major Reform first appeared on WineLaw.ca .
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Provinces Announce Glacial Action to Address National DTC Crisis
I have sometimes told a joke when I am speaking at wine and liquor law events: “there are two speeds for liquor policy change in Canada – glacial and backwards”. Sadly, the current political situation regarding the internal trade barriers for alcohol sales is proving that our provincial politicians regard the “glacial” description as absolutely […] The post Provinces Announce Glacial Action to Address National DTC Crisis first appeared on WineLaw.ca .
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Liquor Markups are the Shackles that are Impeding Canadian Wine Businesses
We are now well past Canada Day, the date that the federal government had previously promised to remove our internal trade barriers regarding wine shipped and sold between provinces. We have no actual substantive progress to date – merely some vague announcements and promises to negotiate. It appears, unsurprisingly, that the government was too optimistic […] The post Liquor Markups are the Shackles that are Impeding Canadian Wine Businesses first appeared on WineLaw.ca .