Wine Tasting
Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick (second from right) tasting BC Wine in Kelowna.
It’s that time of year again… time to chat with BC’s Minister of Agriculture, Norm Letnick. Here’s what we found out.
O & V:
What is the overall feeling in the industry about having wine available in grocery stores?
Norm Letnick:
The plan is to see wine on the grocery store shelves across the province. We are here to support BC’s wine industry. There is one grocery store in Surrey with wine on the shelves that did more sales in one day than several of the surrounding VQA stores. We have the capacity to stock the shelves. We’ve come from 70 wineries in 2001 to 322 today. [Wineries and grape growers] are excited about the grocery store model as it will create more opportunities for consumers to find their products.
On the small business side, selling BC wine through grocery stores will create more jobs for people in the wine industry. The more wine that is sold, the more opportunities for work.
In the recent past I spoke to some grape growers who had a concern about finding a market for their grapes. I believe with the addition of BC wines on grocery store shelves we will see an increase in demand which will pull those grapes through the supply chain. If they are not VQA quality, they might have to label them different, like 100% BC. There is going to be a need for all different kinds of wine price points in the market.
O & V:
Have there been any other sub-appellations requests since the Golden Mile was approved?
Norm Letnick:
The Appellation Task Group report does recommend different areas to create new sub-appellations in British Columbia. They have completed their report (www.bcwinetaskgroup.ca) and it is now public. The recommendations in the report will be put to a vote shortly. I’ll be looking at this report after the vote and see what can be done about improving the appellation system and labelling.
O & V:
Can you give us an update on the replant program?
Norm Letnick:
The replant program is long term. We set it up to last seven years with funding up to $8.4 million over seven years. It was fully subscribed to last year and this year, and we used up 100% of the allocated funds. The program is making it helpful for farmers who need a little assistance to replant their crops to high quality fruits. The industry is different than it was when I was first Minister of Agriculture. The sentiment amongst the industry is very positive and very strong now. Part of that is the resurgence of cider in the market place which provides a home for the apples that don’t make it to the farmers’ market bin.
There was also funding available through the buy local program and the big thing from 2014 was open access for cherries from China. That will help grow the industry by another 20-25M dollars a year for the cherries.
O & V:
Is there anything new with the ALR?
Norm Letnick:
They are working through the backlog now and have six regional panels in place and the workload has been distributed to them.
We also announced the hiring of a CEO for ALC. Kim Grout will be taking over on December 14 of this year and the chair will have his duties reduced from CEO/Chair to chair. We look forward to Ms. Grout leading the administrative side of the land commission. She was at the City of Pitt Meadows as CEO for eleven years. She has a bachelor of science degree from UBC and is a professional agrologist. She brings a lot to the table and the people at the land commission are excited to welcome her to her new role.
O & V:
Ontario banned the use of neonicotinoids to protect our bees. Are there any plans to regulate the use of neonicotinoids in BC?
Norm Letnick:
We recognize the critical role bees play in the environment and agriculture. We have an expert apiarist in our lab in Abbotsford who we rely on to provide us with advice on how to make sure we have a strong bee population. About 250M dollars to the BC economy is made possible by our honeybees as pollinators.
The use of pesticides falls under Federal authority. Health Canada have said they are re-evaluating three of the most commonly used neonicotinoids in Canada and they will have their evaluation done by early 2016. We believe in making decisions based on science so we will wait and evaluate the report when it comes out.
O & V:
Any news with regards to the Environmental Farm Plans?
Norm Letnick:
They continue to be supported by the government. We are encouraged by the numbers. Since the program began in 2004, over 3200 EFP have been developed and we estimate that 1000 additional farms will participate in the program by 2018.
O & V:
What has this year been like as Agriculture Minister compared to previous years?
Norm Letnick:
I did go on a smaller tour this year, not quite like the other ones. I’ve been to Surrey and Richmond, Fort St. John, Prince George, the Cariboo, the Interior, Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island. The only area I didn’t get to this year was Kootenay.
There’s so much out there to learn and one of the benefits of having as long a tenure as I’ve had, is that I end up going back to some places and see how they are progressing. Tours are a great way to identify gaps that need working on and identifying successes.
O & V:
GMOs are still very much in the news. Is there anything new on that front?
Norm Letnick:
The ministry is moving towards mandatory certification towards organics. In the next two to three years if you advertise you are selling organic products you need to be certified.
O & V:
What are your thoughts on Prime Minister Trudeau and his new cabinet?
Norm Letnick:
I’ve already contacted Lawrence MacAulay, our new Federal Agriculture Minister. We had a brief conversation and I was able to slide in a few of my priorities and that’s important.
We need to discuss how to reduce interprovincial trade barriers as well. We will consult and cooperate with the federal government and we fully expect the great relations we have with them to continue into the future.
*Growing Forward 2 (GF2) is a five-year (2013-2018) policy framework for Canada’s agricultural and agri-food sector. GF2 is a $3 billion dollar investment by federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) governments and the foundation for government agricultural programs and services.
