Thank you.
Through you, Mr. Chair, the IILA legislation is one of those obscure laws that leaves most Canadians I've spoken with shocked and shaking their heads in disbelief. It's almost unfathomable, when you think about it, that you can order wine from outside of Canada more easily than you can within our own country.
Canadians, first and foremost, want to support Canadians. In this case, Canadian wine is some of the best in the world, yet an 80-year-old Prohibition-era law stands in the way of that. Our government has made a commitment to support jobs and the economy, and removing interprovincial trade barriers in this case will do that exactly that.
In my region, the wine industry has expanded to custom barrel manufacturing, which I alluded to earlier, stainless steel tank fabrication, marketing aids and services, wine tourism, and more. The possibilities are endless. I'd also like to add that the Osoyoos Indian Band, one of Canada's most progressive first nations communities, also produces world-class wines. This is an industry that brings together many cultures, creates jobs, and supports agriculture in a very value-added manner.