A vineyard in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. (British Columbia Wine Institute photo)

Alberta halts ban on B.C. wine

Alberta will resume imports of wine from British Columbia starting Friday, as the B.C. government prepares to take its concerns over piping crude oil to court. In a brief statement Thursday, Alberta’s Premier Rachel Notley said the province has suspended its ban on B.C. wine and will again allow “ordering, receiving and transportation” of B.C. […] Read more

(WineBC.org)

B.C. plans trade challenge of Alberta’s wine ban

The Alberta government’s ban on imports of wine from British Columbia is poised to be the first case challenged under the new interprovincial Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA). The British Columbia government announced Monday it will formally challenge the Alberta ban through the CFTA dispute settlement process. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley on Feb. 6 ordered […] Read more


A vineyard in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. (British Columbia Wine Institute photo)

Trudeau under pressure to cork provinces’ wine, oil row

Winnipeg/Ottawa | Reuters — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced pressure on Wednesday from an important political ally and the business community to settle an oil pipeline dispute that has sparked fears of a trade war between two neighbouring provinces. Alberta and British Columbia are scrapping over Kinder Morgan Canada’s planned $7.4 billion Trans Mountain pipeline […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Saskatchewan, B.C. areas up for livestock tax deferrals

Livestock producers in several more parched municipalities in Saskatchewan and British Columbia will be able to defer income from sales of animals on their 2017 tax returns. The federal government on Tuesday announced its final list of designated regions for 2017, including 20 more municipalities in Saskatchewan and seven in British Columbia. The initial list, […] Read more


(British Columbia Wine Institute photo)

Alberta halts B.C. wine purchases in pipeline feud

Reuters — Alberta struck back at neighbouring British Columbia on Tuesday, halting purchases of that province’s wines in retaliation for its potentially holding up expansion of a crude pipeline. B.C. proposed rules last week to temporarily block increased oil shipments through the province, adding another hurdle to Kinder Morgan Canada’s planned $7.4 billion Trans Mountain […] Read more

(LCBO.com)

Australia takes Canada to WTO over wine rules

Geneva | Reuters — Australia has complained at the World Trade Organization about Canada’s rules on wine sales, expanding a similar U.S. complaint against one province. In October, Washington accused British Columbia of providing an unfair advantage to local vineyards by giving their wine an exclusive retail channel in grocery store shelves and cutting out […] Read more


History: B.C. Police Sign Off

Reprinted from the December 1950
 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

B.C. Police Sign Off By P.W. Luce, Vancouver, B.C. ‘Khaki and Green has turned to Scarlet and Gold. A romantic era in British Columbia has ended. The Provincial Police Force has been absorbed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Of the 500 officers and men who patrolled the 360,000 square miles of the western province, […] Read more

(Leg.bc.ca)

B.C. Greens seek limits on foreign ownership of farmland

The party holding the balance of power in British Columbia’s legislature wants to curb foreign ownership of farmland in the province’s Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR). Green Party leader Andrew Weaver on Thursday introduced the Property Law Amendment Act as a private member’s bill, which he said “would prohibit foreign entities from purchasing ALR land over […] Read more


Horses that escaped from an enclosure onto a road near an RCMP checkpoint in an evacuated zone at Williams Lake are calmed and walked to safety on July 17. (WilliamsLake.bc.rcmp-grc.gc.ca)

AgriRecovery in place for farms in B.C. wildfire zones

Farmers and ranchers whose operations were hit or evacuated during British Columbia’s particularly destructive wildfire season can expect up to $20 million in AgriRecovery funds toward repair, rebuilding and livestock feeding costs. The federal and B.C. governments on Tuesday laid out more details for the 60-40 cost-shared program, which was announced in principle in mid-August. […] Read more

Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham met Wednesday in Victoria. (Photo courtesy AAFC)

Options weighed for AgriRecovery in B.C. fire zones

Officials in British Columbia are now gauging what sorts of damages and expenses can be covered through an AgriRecovery plan for ranchers and farmers affected by wildfires. The federal and B.C. governments announced Wednesday they’re “working together to quickly assess the extraordinary costs farmers are incurring and what additional assistance may be required to recover […] Read more