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From YouTube: FEB 23 2023 Statements Roly Russell
Description
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
4th Session
42nd Parliament
A
Member
for
boundaries
will
come
in.
Thank
you
very
much,
Mr
Speaker
and
building
nicely
upon
that.
It's
my
honor
today
to
be
able
to
rise
in
this
house
to
share
some
of
the
challenges
and
opportunities
for
BC
wine
with
members
here
from
the
conversations
that
I've
had
across
my
riding,
as
well
as
some
in
the
member
for
penticton's
riding
and
I
suspect.
The
member
for
West
Kelowna
might
have
some
opinions
on
this
as
well.
A
There
is
an
enormous
amount
of
momentum
within
the
industry,
but
that
potential
needs
some
help
from
those
of
us
here
in
this
house.
For
the
context
of
that,
wine
is
one
of
the
highest
value-added
agricultural
products
in
BC,
the
sector
nearly
doubled
in
less
than
10
years
prior
to
the
pandemic,
contributing
3.75
billion
dollars
to
BC's
economy
in
2019.,
but
visits
to
Vineyards
like
Kismet
and
Checkmate,
make
apparent
the
reality
of
climate
change,
impacts
on
varietal
selection
and
yield
heat
domes.
A
Extreme
cold,
snaps
and
Smoky
Summers
have
thrown
an
unpredictable
storm
of
challenges
that
these
producers
a
nod
to
our
efforts
to
reduce
emissions
via
our
clean
BC
commitments
and
the
operational
value
of
regenerative
egg.
But
that's
another
conversation:
exciting
Ventures,
such
as
the
district
wine
Village
in
Oliver,
serve
as
a
wine
Hub
of
sorts
enabling
new
entrants
into
the
business
and
visitors
get
to
explore
the
diversity
of
great
operations
like
cancer,
Cellars,
nice
wines
and
many
more,
but
our
permitting
regime
constrains
their
opportunities
and
they
need
our
help.
A
Similarly,
time,
Winery
and
kitchen
highlighted
for
me
how
creative
entrepreneur
models
of
small
Vineyards
are
being
unreasonably
constrained
by
policies
that
were
written
for
a
different
reality
than
we're
in
today
around
both
real
estate
and
packing
restrictions.
The
pandemic
also
highlighted
challenges
around
many
distribution
networks,
including
wine,
and
there
are
opportunities
for
small
producers
with
centralized
distribution
centers,
but
we
need
to
work
towards
creating
that
change.
A
Visiting
Noble,
Ridge
and
covert
Farms
made
clear
the
value
of
farm
gate,
wine,
tourism
and
the
need
to
grow
our
wine
tourism
marketing,
as
well
as
needs
to
streamline
and
right-size
permitting
on
our
end
here
in
this
place.
I,
don't
even
have
time
to
get
to
the
samalkamine
wines
or
excise
tax
issues
today,
but
I
just
want
to
say:
BC
wine
is
full
of
opportunity
and
the
industry
is
ripe
with
Creative
Energy.
We
here
can
help
unlock
more
of
that
potential.
Thank
you.
Mr
Speaker.