Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Leader, British Columbia’s world-famous wine industry has been hurt by the pandemic, supply chain issues and increased costs brought on by record inflation. As of April 1, the federal alcohol excise tax will automatically increase by 6.3%.

Last fall, Miles Prodan, the CEO of Wine Growers British Columbia, stated:

. . . we don’t see an opportunity for that excise escalator to decrease ever. It’ll just keep adding and adding and adding. So we think we should be exempt.

Leader, what is your response to growers in the Okanagan Valley and all across British Columbia who are concerned by what this upcoming tax increase will mean to their bottom line?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. It’s one that has been raised in the chamber several times in relation to various industries, beer and now wine. I understand the concerns. The government understands the concerns of producers.

All aspects of our economy are challenged by issues of price and supply chain availability. However, the excise tax, which is a regular feature of the industry, does not amount to an unsupportable addition to, ultimately, the price at which a bottle of wine may be sold. I have every confidence that the excellence of B.C. wines — and, indeed, the wines in other provinces — will continue to attract customers, even if the excise tax is maintained, as it will be.