Thanks very much, Chair.
Thank you to our witnesses for being here today.
I would like to discuss some of the issues in regard to the movement of alcohol between provinces. Certainly, this agriculture committee travelled across Canada a few years ago, and we met with the wine industry. There was great frustration, in that our Canadian wine industry is very competitive, but it's easier for them to sell their product internationally than it is to sell it interprovincially to other Canadians.
In the course of this study, we've had the same types of challenges raised, a little less so by the wine industry now, because Dan Albas had his private member's bill, which was supported by the grape industry and the wine industry in terms of being able to sell their product more easily through the removal of barriers to interprovincial trade.
We've had representatives from the beer industry, for example, and representatives from the spirits industry, who also made reference to the fact that there are barriers—and some of them are federal barriers—to the movement of spirits and beer between provinces. I have an example in my own riding, where a very successful microbrewery is penetrating the U.S. before it will penetrate a neighbouring province. Because of all the hurdles in penetrating the neighbouring provinces, it's actually easier and probably more cost-effective for them to go into the States.
Brian, I'd like to ask you this, because I think some of these things are overseen by the Revenue Canada. Can you tell us what regulations of a federal nature there are right now that inhibit the transfer or sale of spirits and beer among provinces? Why don't we start with that?