South Okanagan West Kootenay MP Richard Cannings stood in the House of Commons last week asking the federal government to step in and help B.C. grape and fruit growers devastated by JanuaryB次元官网网址檚 freezing damage.

But the local MP didnB次元官网网址檛 find any help forthcoming.

B次元官网网址淢r. Speaker, everybody knows that my riding makes the best wine in Canada but JanuaryB次元官网网址檚 extreme cold snap caused widespread damage to grape and fruit crops for the second year in a row. Some grape growers have experienced 100 per cent loss of their vines,B次元官网网址� said Cannings.

B次元官网网址淥n top of that, smoke taint from the now-annual forest fires continues to affect many vineyards. Without government help to replant their vines, many wineries could be forced to close. Will the minister provide assistance to help B.C. grape growers and wineries survive climate change?B次元官网网址� Cannings asked.

But no commitments were made by the federal government in response.

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Francis Drouin said they will continue to B次元官网网址榮upportB次元官网网址� the wine sector.

B次元官网网址淢r. Speaker, my heart goes out to grape growers in B.C. and across Canada. I know that in Nova Scotia, they have gone through climate change events. Obviously, this is a serious issue. We have been there to support the wine sector previously and we will continue to be there to support the wine sector in the future,B次元官网网址� said Drouin.

Along with B.C. wines suffering catastrophic vine damage, Alberta threatening wineries to stop shipping direct, devastating wildfires and loss of tourism, come April 1, the federal government is increasing the excise tax of domestic wine by 4.7 per cent.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 hard for the smaller family-run businesses to survive. I talked to one winery this week and they told me theyB次元官网网址檝e lost over 90 per cent of their crop,B次元官网网址� said MP Dan Albas.

There are government supports in place for crop recovery but by the time funds reach a winery, it may be too late, he added.

PentictonB次元官网网址檚 TIME Winery general manager Christa-Lee McWatters, daughter of the late Harry McWatters and board chair of the BC Wine Growers Association has been working non-stop on the Alberta issue as well as the crop damage. She met with both the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Minister of Tourism last week.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a pretty scary time for wineries. IB次元官网网址檝e been doing this for 30 years and IB次元官网网址檝e never seen anything like this. Some will weather this, but not all will,B次元官网网址� she said. The industry is in need of around $317 million of government funding to replant.

The B.C. wine industry contributes $3.75 billion annually to the B.C. economy, according to the Wines of B.C.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檒l only know the true impacts of the cold snap in the coming months, but everything points towards a terrible situation for B.C. wine this year. Couple that with reckless policies coming out of Alberta that seek to stop all direct-to-consumer B.C. wine sales into their province and you have a perfect storm,B次元官网网址� said MLA Ian Paton, BC United Shadow Minister for Agriculture.

B.C. United is suggesting immediate federal and provincial support given the lack of grapes in the 2024 harvest. He is suggesting they create a Canadian Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) certification and temporarily expand the existing tax incentives for wines with 100 per cent B.C.-grown grapes to include wines produced in B.C. with 100 percent Canadian-grown grapes.

They also want to work with the Ontario government and Ontario wine producers to reduce any barriers to importing Ontario grapes and juice to prevent the need for imports from Washington State.

Roly Russell, MLA for Boundary-Similkameen promised more help to growers hit by climate change.

B次元官网网址淟ast year, approximately $27 million in production insurance claims were provided to growers who lost crops due to last winterB次元官网网址檚 freeze,B次元官网网址� Russell said, while acknowledging more needs to be done.