Meet B.C.’s minister of buds, suds and spuds.
You already know her, but it’s a new title that might stick, after veteran Agriculture Minister Lana Popham was quietly given responsibility for liquor and cannabis in the recent cabinet shuffle.
It sounds like a fun gig, full of vast wineries, craft farmyard breweries and orchards-turned-cideries. And maybe it could be. But it also combines three incredibly complex portfolios — agricultural land use restrictions, on top of the byzantine world of liquor and cannabis permitting.
“I’ve always been interested in this file, and I have personal experience in it,” said Popham, who co-founded Barking Dog Vineyard and has also been involved in other vineyard operations, as well as Victoria Gin.
“I’ve always been on the periphery of policy around this, so always having the conversation with producers about changes. But I’ve never had any levers to make anything happen. So I was actually very excited to receive this. It’s something that I think adds a lot to the ministry, and I think it’s where it should have lived all along.”
“I was actually very excited to receive this. It’s something that I think adds a lot to the ministry.”
Lana Popham
There are a lot of levers. The only policy area with more red tape, historical baggage and political third rails than the use of protected farm land is the expansion of alcohol and legalized cannabis products.
While enforcement will remain with the public safety ministry, the rules around sales, marketing and distribution go to Popham.
“My mandate was really clear from the premier, he said that I needed to work on modernization and make sure the system was running more efficiently,” said Popham.
“I’ve heard loud and clear for years that the licensing, the permitting, all of that was very slow. It didn’t necessarily make sense to the people in the system, and there’s a big backlog of permits. So it’s much like other ministries who are trying to deal with moving permits along. That’s the task that I have.”
Minister mandated to simplify and expedite permitting
Premier David Eby instructed Popham to look to Ontario for examples on how to simplify and expedite liquor permitting. There, the Doug Ford government has been overhauling that province’s liquor system as part of public pressure and election promises.
“Grow our economy by supporting food and beverage producers, farmers, restaurants and the tourism sector with flexible liquor, land use and cannabis regulations in relation to the development of innovative tourism products and unique experiences,” Eby wrote Popham in her mandate letter, issued during last month’s cabinet shuffle.
That instruction is on top of Popham’s existing orders to both protect the Agricultural Land Reserve farmland, while also moving to “expand food processing” on farmland, grow food security, lower farming costs and strengthen the supply chain for local food.
Farmland, liquor and cannabis have not always gone well together, despite what you’d expect to be an easy fit.
A farm-to-table cafe on Nanoose farmland illustrated the problem in 2019 when it was almost forced to shut down due to Agricultural Land Use rules over restaurants and breweries on farmland that resulted in denied permits. There are a myriad of horror stories of businesses trying to navigate the lengthy, complex, cumbersome permitting process for liquor sales, lounges, patios or production.
Craft brewers calling for tax break
Ken Malenstyn, who is one of four families that founded Barnside Brewing in Delta, said it took a long time to get the various agricultural and liquor permits required to build and open a craft brewery that uses the bulk of its ingredients — hops and grain — grown on its own surrounding land.
“Being on farmland there’s so many other things you have to get done,” he said. “It took us four years, which is a long time to get it rolling and be investing that money. That was a challenge. That said, the current structure isn’t horrible. If you can’t make a go of it with a brewery that meets the current requirements, maybe there’s something else that’s not quite right with your business plan.”
The key, said Malenstyn, is to balance any rule changes with the ongoing protection of farmland and the pressure by some to exploit it for large homes, businesses and other non-farming use.
Malenstyn is also part of a push by craft brewers to change the markup tax the province hits them with every litre of beer they sell, with the goal to give a break to smaller breweries that are struggling to keep costs low and compete with larger corporate beer companies. More than 20 breweries in B.C. have shut down in the last year, according to B.C. Craft Brewers Guild.
“I have heard it loud and clear also that the tax structure that’s in place is not working for the craft beer industry,” said Popham. “So I’m dedicated to getting that addressed as well.”
Malenstyn said breweries that use local products should also get a financial incentive, like in the wine, distilling and cider sectors.
“If I had to choose, that’s the most important thing that needs to happen to really save the industry,” he said. “You are obviously stimulating agriculture production, you are building a more robust hop industry, a more robust grain industry, you are building up the possibility there is more secondary industries, like more malting taking places in the Lower Mainland, and breweries are clamouring for that.”
Popham said she’s open to finding ways to make liquor uses on farm land more profitable, as they wrestle with supply chains, production costs and labour issues. Their success helps boost B.C.’s agritourism sector, she added.
Rules aren’t working for Cannabis producers
On the cannabis side, B.C. produces 25 per cent of all the licensed cannabis in B.C., and it’s now one of the top five agricultural products in the province. With more than 5,000 jobs in the sector, and a $1.75 billion contribution to the province’s economy, its success is important as well.
“Things aren’t quite working for them, as far as being able to market themselves and being at events, etcetera,” said Popham. “Although I’m not an expert on the cannabis file, I certainly know enough of it to also recognize it’s not really working for them.”
Among the immediate issues is that cannabis produced in the province can’t currently be part of the Buy BC marketing program. “I’m going to be taking a look at that,” she said.
All of that, on top of existing agricultural issues, such as the continued recovery of B.C.’s tree fruit and vineyard sector after a devastating cold snap, the high cost of farmland and the pressures on the larger sector with the U.S. trade war.
Popham said she’ll be thinking outside the box for new ideas, including opening wine stores onboard BC Ferries.
“The province depends on the taxes that come from alcohol in a very big way,” she said. “So I’m looking forward to trying to increase that.”
Overall, the goal appears to be to smooth out a system known for being a headache at best, a nightmare at worst.
“Cumbersome is a great word for it,” said Popham. But it doesn’t need to be.”