The recent trade war between Alberta and BC around the province’s wine industry has led to a response from the Liberals.
Party leader Andrew Wilkinson placed the blame on Premier John Horgan for starting the issue – accusing him of picking a fight with Alberta Premier Rachel Notley over Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Pipeline project.
The NDP are showing their true colours. As I told media in Victoria, their actions have started a trade war with our neighbours in Alberta, and innocent winemakers in B.C. will be the victims.#BCwines pic.twitter.com/dJBnuvoaBR
— Andrew Wilkinson (@Wilkinson4BC) February 7, 2018
No matter how you slice it, the finger points back at Horgan according to Prince George-Mackenzie MLA, Mike Morris.
“There was no reason for him to do that, the bitumen, the safety, all those things were researched to death by some very qualified people based on the research that was done, the federal government approved the pipeline. Period.”
“The overarching theme here is that BC is not open for business, the goal posts are no longer understandable and people just won’t invest here and I think Horgan needs to be very cautious on how he moves forward on this.”
The Trans-Mountain Pipeline project has already received approval from the Justin Trudeau Liberal government, further frustrating Morris on the timing of Horgan’s comments saying he planned to consult more about the project through BC and look at the possibility of putting a cap on the amount of bitumen the pipeline can carry to Vancouver via the Oil Sands in Northern Alberta.
“Now for the premier to come in at this late stage and throw a wrench into the approval process, contrary to the constitution, he initiated this trade war himself and what else can province like Alberta do to make a point and make a statement that Mr. Horgan is out in left field on this issue”.
Last year, Albertans bought 7.2 million bottles of BC wine in their province, spending around $70 million dollars.
If the ban continues it could lead to a negative trickle-down effect for the industry, especially in wine hotbeds such as the Okanagan.
“This will hit a lot of those small businesses out there but more importantly, it sends a message right across British Columbia and in fact, across Canada that even though Ottawa approves these projects provinces can still scuffle them and that sends a message to investors saying hmm…maybe I better stay away from BC.”
“The federal government needs to act immediately on this to preserve the federal legislation and the constitution and I’m pointing the finger at the federal government as well. I have an enforcement background and the law is the law and if you fight the law then somebody needs to deal with that and in this case, it’s the federal government that needs to step up to the plate and takes action.”
A mediator has been called in to try and resolve the conflict between the provinces.
Luckily, the Northern Lights Estate Winery in Prince George will most likely come out unscathed from this trade battle as they currently do not ship to Alberta.