HALIFAX — The co-chair of a working group looking into support for Nova Scotia’s wine industry has resigned, calling the talks with the provincial government an “enormous disappointment.”

Premier Tim Houston created the industry group last spring after he paused a contentious subsidy program for two commercial wine bottlers.

In a letter sent to Houston on Monday, Karl Coutinho, chairman of Wine Growers Nova Scotia, says government proposals presented at a meeting Friday were incomplete and “had the appearance of being written on the back of a napkin.”

In an interview today, Coutinho said the government is still pushing the idea of a subsidy for bottlers, something wine and grape growers are against.

He says the move would effectively subsidize foreign wines, while undercutting the operations of wine growers and farmers in Nova Scotia.

Coutinho says wineries are asking for a meeting with the premier to air their concerns over the working group.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 25, 2024.

The Canadian Press