Okay. Mr. Chair, I would like to put forward again our CPC amendment. This was recently sent out by the clerk, I believe. I hope all committee members have had a chance to take a look at it. It just changes the language to say that this would have referred to clause 131.
This amendment to the amendment would simply defer, until January 1, 2023, the application of excise when it comes to beer, wine and spirits—particularly, in this case, wine. I gave much of my rationale yesterday. The rationale still stands. Many of our wineries have had such a hard and difficult time since COVID. The impact to their bottom line has been tremendous. Because of supply chain issues, many are unable to secure the bottles they need in order to bottle by July 1, when the new excise provisions that are contemplated in Bill C-19 would take effect under the current reading. This would essentially give them that extra time.
I also want to be mindful that, for many wineries, especially the small and medium-sized family wineries, many have never paid excise, because they use 100% Canadian-grown content. I'm not going to rehash old debates today about the Australian wine WTO challenge and where it led us to, other than to say that these wineries need our help. The Australians stood up for their wine industry because of what they felt was unfair treatment towards domestic product versus their product due to the escalator only applying to foreign product or product made with less than 100% Canadian content.
Mr. Chair, what I'm asking for here is a deferment. This would give them the time to bottle. I also believe it would dovetail with the government's strategy, because it has not fully unveiled what its replacement program would be. There have been discussions with the industry and commitments made by the government in this budget. Some of the numbers are still under question, but the actual formation of that program—who receives it, and at what amounts—has not been made public to the industry. This would give the industry that extra time. It would also give the government extra time to make sure that everyone knows their obligations under the law. I would just ask for all honourable members to support this important bill.
Again, I recognize that the Canadian government, before COVID, made commitments. The Australian government stood up for its producers. All I'm asking for is a deferment. I don't think the Australians, considering there's a new government there, would look at it as out of hand to say that we are implementing this to keep as many small and medium-sized wineries open so that they can begin to understand their obligations under this new law.