Alberta dismisses British Columbia's legal challenge on wine ban
In a tit for tat row, Alberta has shrugged off a legal challenge filed by British Columbia (BC) over Alberta’s ban on BC wine.
Alberta’s premier Rachel Notley imposed the boycott on February 6th following the BC government’s attempts to block the $7.4bn Trans Mountain pipeline expansion that carries oil to the west coast from Edmonton. The move by the oil-rich Alberta government could cost the BC wine industry $70m a year.
On February 19, the BC government announced its plans to launch a legal challenge of the boycott via the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) which came into effect last year. Alberta could face up to $5m in fines for breaching interprovincial free trade agreements, but the province's economic development minister has dismissed this as small fry compared to the potential loss of $1.5bn.
“Let’s compare the maximum $5m in a fine versus the billions of dollars of investment and the the thousands of jobs,” Deron Bilous told reporters on Tuesday. “We know what our priority is and that’s getting this pipeline built.”
However, BC’s minister of jobs, trade and technology Bruce Ralston said he was confident they would win the legal challenge. "B.C.'s wine industry is an important contributor to our economy, creating good jobs and other economic benefits for people in B.C.," he said. . "We're standing by our wine producers and the communities that rely on this important industry by launching a formal trade dispute, and we are confident we will be successful."
According to the B.C. government, it will be the first trade dispute between provinces to be launched under the new CFTA. "Alberta's actions threaten the livelihood of the families that have worked so hard to build B.C.'s world-class wine industry," Ralston continued. "These actions are inconsistent with Alberta's obligations under the CFTA, and we will protect our reputation and the interests of British Columbians."