In April, B.C.’s craft distillers launched a petition on change.org to get the province’s craft sprits into government liquor stores, with a plea to: “Join the movement to demand fairness, fuel B.C.’s economy, and give authentic local spirits the respect they deserve. Raise your voice, raise your elbows, and let’s make some noise!”

It’s not just about getting more local hooch on store shelves; at issue are two key changes distilleries have been requesting for the last decade. The first is allowing B.C. distilleries similar benefits and reimbursements as the BC VQA wine program. Under that, if a $40 bottle of BC VQA wine is sold in a BC Liquor Store, the winery retains $33 of the price. Meanwhile, if a $40 bottle of 100-per-cent farm-to-bottle B.C. craft spirit is sold, the distillery keeps only $13—which is less than the cost of production.

The second is to remove the 50,000-litre production cap that keeps distilleries from growing and allows multinationals to dominate the B.C. marketplace. The petition notes that there is no cap on how much a B.C. winemaker can produce; meanwhile, if a distiller produces more than 50,000 litres, they can be charged a $280,000 penalty on the next bottle they make. That puts them at an unfair advantage compared to foreign brands that produce millions of litres.

The distillers believe the potential economic and agricultural benefits are staggering, noting that that the province’s wine industry has flourished into a $4-billion industry under the VQA program. For more info or to sign the petition, go to change.org/p/elbows-up-bc-time-to-get-bc-craft-spirits-in-government-liquor-stores.