Photo: BC Gov Flickr

Ashton at a 2017 wine event.

The B.C. wine industry is near and dear to the citizens of MLA Dan Ashton's Penticton riding, and he has now spoken out against the ongoing embargo in Alberta.

In a statement released Tuesday, Ashton, a BC Liberal, called out Premier John Horgan and the provincial NDP for embroiling the industry in their trade war.

“As the wine war continues, it seems the only people coming out ahead are the lawyers. Today the government launched more court action,” Ashton said, during Question Period in the Legislature on Monday. “Seventy million dollars in wine sales is being lost and replacing that revenue could take years.”

Since the Feb. 6 announcement by Premier Rachel Notley of Alberta that her province would no longer be importing B.C. wine until progress could be made on the controversial Trans-Mountain pipeline, B.C.'s wineries have been in limbo.

The B.C. wine industry contributes $2.8 billion annually to the economy. It includes over 300 wineries and employs over 12,000 people province-wide.

In his release, Ashton also noted that wineries are at greater risk heading into tourist season, using Dirty Laundry Vineyards in Summerland as an example of a winery that gets 45 per cent of their visitors from Alberta. 

“We need the government to take this seriously. The $2 billion wine industry is not a pawn to be used between two bickering provincial NDP governments," Ashton said.