Nova Scotia government defends funding offer rejected by wine industry

During a briefing Thursday, Finance Department officials said the offer presented to an industry working group last week is fair and complies with international trade rules.

The province’s winemakers say subsidies for bottlers are unfair because they help the bottlers import cheap grape juice to make wine that is less expensive than locally produced wines. She said the new funding plan will not take effect by the proposed Oct. 1 date because the wineries don’t want the money, although the government is set to continue talks.

Thursday’s presentation came after working group co-chair Karl Coutinho informed Premier Tim Houston in a letter earlier this week that he was resigning over the government’s offer, which he characterized as an “enormous disappointment” to the province’s wineries and grape growers.

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