Following a suite of policy changes coming this summer to help BC’s hurting wine industry, the province has announced an extra $70 million dollars to help replant and strengthen fruit orchards and vineyards.
Speaking at a wine industry conference in Penticton Wednesday, Minister of Agriculture and Food Pam Alexis announced the increased funding, with a focus on climate resilient varietals of grapes, fruit and cherries.
She was later joined by Premier David Eby, who video conferenced in to tell the more than 250 attendees that the province has their back.
“We’re with you, we’ll stay with you and let’s get planning,” Eby added.
“The farmers of British Columbia are so critical to our province, the security of our food. We see the challenges internationally around food security, and that’s going to affect us.”
The premier added that the $70 million replanting program should hopefully “go a long way” in getting growers of fruits across the province back on their feet.
Boundary-Similkameen MLA Roly Russell spoke on the suite of policy changes coming for the summer season, including more support for tours that allow people to sit and enjoy a glass of wine while on a tour, permits allowing sales for more places on site, more flexibility on sampling, and selling products in picnic areas.
“All of this while making it clear that it’s okay to bring your glass of wine from one service area to the other,” he said to the room, followed by a round of applause
“We recognize the $3.75 billion contribution, we recognize those 14,000 jobs, we recognize how deeply embedded in this part of the world the industry is and how important it is,” he said.
The government is also establishing a B.C. wine-grape sector task force to develop a research and varietal road map for the local industry. The task force will run for two years and provide practical recommendations to producers and the industry about how to remain profitable and resilient.
Industry leaders spoke to Castanet News on the importance of support to not only wine industry members but the province as a whole.
“We know that any investment they make will come back multiple fold. I mean, we’re a $3.7 billion industry. So it’s not just about wine. It’s about as I say, wine, tourism and restaurants and everyone across the province takes advantage of our industry, if not by enjoying it in a glass, but certainly by the impact that we have on the province,” Miles Proden, president of Wine Growers BC said.
Dan Paszkowski, the president of Wine Growers Canada said the tourism that’s developed around the valley in terms of resorts, golf courses, and UBC is centred around the wine industry.
“So the value added contribution of the wine industry to Kelowna to Penticton to the entire Okanagan Valley revolves around the wine and grape industry to a very large extent. And it hasn’t even come close to its full its full potential,” he added.
“So if we can grow back the industry, that’s going to contribute to the British Columbia economy and contribute to the well being of all British Columbians and all Canadians.
He said being representative at the national level, he’s taking a cue from the provinces in terms of engaging discussions with the federal government to address issues related to income stabilization, purchasing of grapes and the replant of the crops in the Okanagan over the next couple of couple of years
It was announced on Saturday the government would cap the excise duty increase from 4.7 per cent down to two per cent.
The wine industry insight conference was hosted by Wine Growers British Columbia with the Wine Grape Council, BC Wine Grape Growers, and also the BC Wine Institute.
They all agree there is still much more to be done to help growers and producers heading forward, as they look at years of rebuilding.
Chris Wyse, the president of Burrowing Owl Winery in the South Okanagan, said there are a lot of unknowns still.
“We’re all concerned. We hope we’ll get through it. There’s lots of ideas on the table how we’ll handle the harvest coming up, some wineries will be affected more than others. The frost probably won’t be universal,” he said.
“But I think right now we’re working together, I think we’re pulling together as an industry, we want to support each other. And make sure that as a BC wine region, we stay strong.”
Proden added that any funding announcement is just the start of the process.
“This isn’t money that’s a gift. There needs to be some thoughtful work put behind where does that money go in replacing what grape and where. It’s just not a simple matter of replacing what was damaged, we need to be thoughtful and making sure the right grape is placed in the right place,” he said.
“We’ve got the knowledge and the resiliency and the skill in our vineyard and wine industry to do that, but certainly, this will be a huge step and the first down the road.”
The new investment in a provincial replant program is in addition to the crop insurance and AgriStability income-protection programs the federal and provincial governments operate to support farmers who experience crop losses and income declines.
ORIGINAL: 1:30 p.m.
The British Columbia government says farmers will get an extra $70 million to replant and strengthen fruit orchards and vineyards after two years of weather-related disasters.
Premier David Eby says the funding will boost the province’s existing $15 million Perennial Crop Renewal Program, launched last spring to help more than 200 farmers replace diseased and unproductive plants.
Speaking at a wine industry conference in Penticton, Eby says the new funding will help about 1,000 more producers revitalize their farms.
B.C.’s wine grape growers say a cold snap in January destroyed up to 99 per cent of the province’s harvest, a devastating blow that followed another crippling deep freeze in 2022 and wildfire smoke damage in 2021.
Okanagan fruit growers say they were also hit hard by the January cold spell that sent temperatures in Kelowna plunging to -27 C, inflicting 90 per cent losses for stone fruits.
Eby says the government will also establish a B.C. wine grape sector task force to develop plans to help producers stay profitable and resilient as they face climate change.
More to come…
Photo: The Canadian Press
B.C. Premier David Eby speaks during a news conference in Vancouver on Jan. 9, 2024. The British Columbia government says hard-hit fruit farmers and grape growers will get an extra $70 million in supports to replant and strengthen orchards and vineyards after two years of weather-related disasters. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.
The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.
“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.
The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.
But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.
Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.
“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.
“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”
Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.
In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.
Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.
The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.
The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.
Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.
Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.
It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.
Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.
Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.
No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.
Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.
A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.
The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.
The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
