The Mayor of St. Catharines is calling on the Ontario government to help support the wine industry with reforms.
Walter Sendzik introduced a motion at Niagara Region’s Planning and Economic Development Committee on Wednesday which passed unanimously.
He is calling on the Province to undertake several changes to provide Niagara's entrepreneurial wine industry with opportunities to invest more into innovation and job creation, while providing consumer choice and convenience for the purchase of Ontario wines.
Sendzik's motion will come before Regional Council next week.
The motion, seconded thanks to the support of Lincoln Mayor Sandra Easton, urges the province to support the following reforms:
•Eliminate the 6.1% tax applied to VQA (100% Ontario-grown) wines on sales in the 2021 Budget;
•Enable Ontario wines to offer direct delivery, with margin, to grocery stores;
•Establish long-term VQA wine support programs at the LCBO that would increase shelf space for VQA wines and;
•Eliminate import taxes on 100% Ontario VQA wines
•Remove inter-provincial trade barriers related to sale of wines across provincial borders