Wine industry players looking for ways to support entire N.S. sector, says premier

Groups representing both the farm and commercial wine sectors in Nova Scotia have been working to find ways the province can fairlysupport their whole industry,said Premier Tim Houston onThursday as he looked to move on from a contentious and now paused subsidy benefiting big-label bottlers.

The two working groups wereset upin April, amonth after word of a subsidy for commercial wine bottlersled to a firestorm of controversy for the Tories. Houston said the new groups haveeach met four times to gather input for a path forward.

"There's a strategic assessment of the wine industry that's also underway and will help guide the development of, you know, an equitable support program," Houstontold reporters remotely following a cabinet meeting in the Annapolis Valley.

Members of the farm wine industry argued in March that the subsidyfor their commercial counterparts, which could have been worth millions of dollars,created an unfair advantage that risked their industry.

Although Houstonsaid changes in the way the government supports the industry were necessary in light ofan international trade complaint by Australia,hepaused the subsidy to Devonian Coast and Peller Estatesthat month and pledged to involve all industry players.

Questions about subsidy payout

Opposition leaders said they're glad everyone is sitting down and talking, but they still have questions about how much money was paid to Devonian and Peller before the commercial program was paused.

"Had [the premier] met with the farm wine sector leading up to that decision, he might have made a better call and not potentially made a decision that negatively impacted the farm wine sector, which is so critical to our rural economy," Liberal Leader Zach Churchill told reporters in Halifax.

NDP Leader Claudia Chender told reporters she remains troubled by the government's refusal to say how much money the commercial bottlers received.

"I have huge concerns about the fact that the government has written two blank cheques behind closed doors with no tender and no transparency and we still don't know how much money it was."

In March, CBC News received information indicatingthe commercial bottlers could get between $6 million and $12 million annually as part of the program that is now paused. At the time, Houston said the amount paid out was "nothing in the range of those numbers," but declined to provide further details.

On Thursday, the premier said he believes a solution that is fair to everyone and compliant with international trade laws should be able to be reached quickly.

There isn't a firm timeline for how long that work will take, but Houston said "it's not something that anyone wants to linger."