Bill C-311 Receives Royal Assent

A bill seeking to amend a Prohibition-era law that makes it illegal for consumers to transport liquor across provincial boundaries cleared another hurdle Thursday.

After Members of Parliament unanimously passed Bill C-311 in the House of Commons in early June, the bill went on to receive approval by the Senate and achieved Royal Assent.

The private-member’s bill was introduced last October by Dan Albas, MP for Okanagan-Coquihalla, a riding located in British Columbia’s wine country.

The bill's goal is to alter the 1928 Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act. Under this post-Prohibition act, it is technically illegal for anyone to carry liquor such as a bottle of wine across provincial boundaries. Shipping wine from a winery to a residence in another province is also illegal.

As of today, the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act provides all provincial governments with the ability to establish the rules to permit their residents to transport wine home from another province or to order wine online and have it shipped directly.  

“The removal of interprovincial barriers to wine trade has been a priority for consumers and wineries for a very long time,” explains Dan Paszkowski, President and CEO of the Canadian Vintners Association.

“Federal law has made interprovincial wine transport a criminal offence for consumers and restricted the provinces from meeting their resident consumers’ demands.” 

Paszkowski also says that unanimous consent is rare for any legislation and points to support for amending this prohibition law and removing barriers to interprovincial wine trade.

Now that the federal law has been amended, all eyes turn to provincial governments who are now empowered to make the necessary changes for personal wine transport and online delivery.

Photo by Tequila Partners