Lifting of interprovincial liquor restrictions 'quite a ways from what I really want'

The P.E.I. government announced plans Tuesday to drop restrictions on the amount of alcohol that can be brought into the province for personal use, but a UPEI economist says the province needs to go further.

Prof. Jim Sentance has both a personal and professional interest in the question.

"This is still quite a ways from what I really want," said Sentance.

"This isn't for me. This is for the Canadian wine industry. What really needs to happen is they need to allow direct from winery to consumer shipping."

Sentance is a fan of Canadian wine, and since he moved to the Maritimes the lack of access has been irritating for him. He travels regularly to his old home in the Niagara region in Ontario and brings back wine, but even if restrictions are lifted, he said, there is only so much room in his car.

A problem for the industry

And then there are other areas of the country where this will not help at all.

"B.C., in case people hadn't noticed, produces a whole lot of really great Canadian wine. There's virtually none of it available in eastern Canada," said Sentance.

While this is annoying for him, Sentance can put on his economist hat and see that it is a serious barrier for growth for the Canadian wine industry.

"For Canadian wineries this is extremely important," he said.

"If you're outside one of the big winery distribution networks you're not going to get stocked inprovincial liquor stores. Most of the good wine is in the little wineries."

That effectively limits wineries to the market in their home provinces, which is particularly problematic for the smaller provinces in the Maritimes.

The P.E.I. government says it is looking at ways to allow extra-provincial, direct-to-consumer sales through the liquor commission.

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