Normally, B.C. government liquor issues are overseen by the minister responsible for the Liquor Distribution Branch, Coralee Oakes.

And the point person on legal issues is the attorney general, Suzanne Anton. Under provincial legislation, she's the senior legal adviser to the government.

But today, the government designated the jobs minister, Shirley Bond, to respond to a trade complaint filed against a B.C. wine reform. 

"We support the growth of the industry, and we will defend it against this challenge," Bond said in a statement released today. "The B.C. government is confident that we are complying with B.C.'s and Canada's international trade obligations."

The U.S. government has alleged to the World Trade Organization that the province's restriction on selling foreign wine in grocery stories violates the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

That's because B.C. wines will be allowed on grocery store shelves without any requirement for a separate entrance and a separate cashier. But foreign wines must be sold in a "store within a store". In addition, these outlets selling foreign wines can't be within a kilometre of another store within a store. The same rule doesn't apply to B.C. wines sold in groceries.

This may be the first of several trade complaints. That's because diplomats representing six other foreign governments—the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Chile, and Argentina—signed a letter last year to Premier Christy Clark making the same allegation.

Bond, however, declared that this wine rule is designed to protect public health and public safety.

"We talked to thousands of British Columbians about what they wanted to see regarding liquor sales," the jobs minister stated. "We listened and  we delivered."

Under WTO rules, the federal government is the respondent when a foreign government files a trade complaint.

Meanwhile, the federal government is trying to dissuade the U.S. government from imposing tariffs on softwood lumber. This is in response to complaints from U.S. producers that B.C. and other provinces subsidize timber companies through forest licences.

Earlier this month, Forests Minister Steve Thomson adamantly rejected any claim that B.C. gives a sweet deal to wood-exporting companies.

Bond emphasized in her statement that the province will work closely with Global Affairs Canada "to ensure" that B.C.'s liquor policies meet Canada's trade obligations. She pointed out that "100 percent" B.C. wine sales account for 17 percent of all wine sales provincially.

"Trade agreements such as NAFTA allow for a number of private wine outlets that sell only B.C. wine, and we are confident in the approach we have taken," Bond stated.

Meanwhile, the organization that represents California wine producers has applauded the U.S. government for filing the trade complaint.

The Wine Institute's president and CEO, Bobby Koch, said in a statement that B.C. consumers "are among the most knowledgeable and sophisticated purchasers of wine".

“Any expansion of retail distribution channels should ensure that consumers have convenient access to their preferred wines from around the world,” Koch said.

According to the Wine Institute, California producers sold $461 millon worth of wine in Canada in 2015. That year, California wines were the most popular import table wines sold in Canada and in B.C.