Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute an industry which has risen from the ashes to become a world leader. I refer to the Okanagan's flourishing wine industry. Today any respectable wine cellar is incomplete without a selection of the very fine vintages coming from the Okanagan Valley.
Among our world class estate wines we include Le Compte Wines, Sumac Ridge, Lang Vinyards, Wild Goose Vinyards and Gehringer Brothers. All have won an impressive collection of international medals for their wines. Many of these wines have been judged the best in the world at competitions such as the Intervin International in New York and the International Wine and Spirit Competition held in London, England.
In the south Okanagan estate wineries floundered with government subsidies but have flourished without government subsidies and government interference. Free enterprise and competition nurtures excellence. There is an important lesson in
the Okanagan wine industry. I salute the entrepreneurs of the Okanagan wine industry and the people of the Okanagan. Indeed all Canadians are justly proud of you.