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Calls for policy changes to support B.C. distilleries mounting

On Friday, Vernon’s local chamber of commerce released a statement calling on the B.C. government to eliminate regulatory obstacles hindering the expansion of the province’s craft distillery sector.
These calls follow the province's recent removal of U.S. spirits from BC Liquor Stores but no changes to limits like the 50,000-litre production cap.
The chamber requests two changes: expand distillers' access to government stores and eliminate the annual 50,000-litre production cap to meet market demand.
The leader of Okanagan Spirits and head of the Craft Distillers Guild highlighted that exceeding the production limit results in $280,000 in fines, describing the pricing increases as excessive and the regulatory obstacles as outdated.
Inaction on these reforms restricts distilleries' growth and causes significant economic losses, while modernized policies could boost local products and job creation.

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