A GROWING CONCERN- Three Dog Winery owner John Squair speaks with Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Ernie Hardeman and Bay of Quinte MPP Todd Smith at the Sophiasburgh winery on Friday afternoon. Hardeman was in Prince Edward County to announce the province would be committing to $15 million of transition funding for Ontario’s beverage sector. (Submitted Photo)
STAFF WRITER
Ontario’s wine, cider and distilled spirit producers who are all represented by operations in Prince Edward County will benefit from $15 million of transition funding by the government of Ontario to the beverage alcohol sector.
On Friday, Bay of Quinte MPP Todd Smith, the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services welcomed Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs Ernie Hardeman to Sophiasburgh’s Three Dog Winery to announce the funding. It will allow wineries, cideries, and distilleries to continue to grow and meet consumer demand while the government reviews programs, such as the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) Wine Support program, supporting the sector.
“Prince Edward County’s burgeoning wine industry and craft beverage producers across the Quinte region have become tremendous drivers of economic development and tourism for this part of Ontario,” said Smith. “I’m pleased that Minister Hardeman has come through with this vital transitional funding while our government reviews additional measures to help this sector grow and thrive.”
Bay of Quinte MPP Todd Smith, John and Sacha Squair of Three Dog Winery, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Ernie Hardeman and County of Prince Edward Mayor Steve Ferguson. (Submitted Photo)
Hardeman indicated the transition funding would also extend support to the following initiatives:
In addition to the funding, Hardeman noted the government is proposing further changes to cut red tape for the sector, making it easier for businesses to market their products by:
“Our government’s priority is to make Ontario more competitive, and this includes strengthening the craft producers’ sector,” said Hardeman. “By delivering these transition programs, we are recognizing the urgent needs of the industry and helping small- and medium-sized wineries, cideries, and distilleries scale up, drive tourism, and increase demand for quality Ontario grapes, apples and grains.”
The announcement by the government comes in part due to lobbying by those in the sector concerned the province might have gone through with plans to end the VQA Wine Support program, an initiative that helped offset the import tax charged to local wineries selling in the LCBO with a 35 per cent tax credit.
Three Dog Winery owner John Squair said Friday’s announcement helped end months of speculation and worry among those in the sector with what type of program would replace VQA Wine Support.
“When we started planning our winery six years ago, this program was part of our business plan moving forward and when it looked like it might be in jeprordy, we and other wineries started lobbying the government very hard,” Squair told the Gazette. “For small Ontario wineries that are trying to compete with larger scale operations, the VQA Wine Support program is very important.Without it we would have to turn our business model upside down.”
From his prospective, Squair credited MPP Smith for meeting with and listening to beverage producers in Prince Edward County and responding to their concerns.
“We were very impressed with Todd, He came out to the vineyard a couple of times to meet with us and discuss how we would be affected. He wanted more information and, once he had this information, I think he was able to represent us at Queen’s Park and bring our concerns to the table,” Squair added.
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