Finance committee  The 2% cap that was announced for the next two years was greeted with much relief, because an increase of about 6% had actually been expected. If it goes up by 6%, then after a certain number of years it is going to look like compound interest and the costs to the industry become enormous.

Finance committee  Off the top of my head, I want to thank the committee, which adopted the proposal by the Union québécoise des microdistilleries in its recommendations to the Department of Finance in its pre-budget consultations report. That is recommendation 331, which adopted our proposed model.

Finance committee  That's right. In fact, our proposal has two components. First, we have to base our policies on the precedent that already exists in Canada, which imposes different excise duties depending on production volumes, as in the microbrewery industry. So that should be applied equally to distilleries and spirits.

Finance committee  That's right.

Finance committee  Absolutely. Take the example of a $40 bottle, which is about the median amount for craft spirits. In that situation, excise duties represent 10% of the price of the bottle, or $4. That would actually be a significant amount, applied to the volume of sales.

Finance committee  It would certainly give the industry some relief. The St. Lawrence Distillery had actually been in business for ten years. It was part of the distillery landscape in Quebec. It was a pioneering visionary for the entire industry and operated in over 15 countries. Commercial success was in sight, but its wings were clipped by regulations and laws that date from the 1920s and tax spirits at a truly atrocious level.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair and distinguished committee members, my name is Vincent Lambert and I am the general secretary of the Union québécoise des microdistilleries, the UQMD. With over 50 members, the UQMD represents the two permits that regulate distilleries in Quebec: industrial permits and small-scale production permits.