Free-the-beer: Supreme court ruling today
In a unanimous decision released today, the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed the constitutionality of a New Brunswick law that allowed the RCMP to fine a man who bought large quantities of beer and liquor from neighbouring Quebec.
The court's decision effectively preserves the current trade rules within Canada, saying provinces have the power to enact laws that restrict commerce if there is another overriding goal.
In October 2012, Gerard Comeau of Tracadie, N.B., drove across the border to Quebec to buy 14 cases of beer and 3 bottles of liquor from 3 stores where he could buy them at a lower price.
CFIB, along with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, appeared as interveners in the case, which arose after a New Brunswick retiree, Mr. Comeau, was fined for purchasing alcohol in Quebec and transporting it over the border between the two provinces.
The Constitution Act section says, "All articles of the growth, produce, or manufacture of any one of the provinces shall, from and after the union, be admitted free into each of the other provinces".
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Described as maintaining the status quo, the ruling essentially says that provinces can pass any law they want that interferes with inter-provincial trade as long as it is part of a broader provincial policy or program.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the interprovincial agreement "a significant step" towards full free trade within Canada.
"The Supreme Court's decision pushes the needle in the right direction".
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"I'm not really disappointed", he said in Campbellton, N.B.
"I think it's very sad for Canada".
For Gerald Comeau, the court's findings likely mean he'll have to pay his fine and he won't get this beer back.
For Comeau, the case was simply about his right to stock up on cheaper suds. "We should be able to move and sell goods and services as easily between provinces as we do with other nations, and businesses should be able to work and prosper in many provinces without being held up by costly, excessive regulations".
An New Brunswick provincial court judge, accepting the evidence of one expert on interpreting the 1867 Constitution, found Section 121 of that document guarantees that goods should be admitted free when crossing provincial borders.
The framers of the Constitution agreed that individual provinces needed to relinquish their tariff powers, the court said. "We further conclude that s. 121 prohibits governments from levying tariffs or tariff-like measures (measures that in essence and objective burden the passage of goods across a provincial border); but, s. 121 does not prohibit governments from adopting laws and regulatory schemes directed to other goals that have incidental effects on the passage of goods across provincial borders".
However, the historical evidence nowhere suggests that provinces would lose their power to legislate in the public interest, even if that might affect interprovincial trade. It said conclusively the 1867 Constitution did not impose an "absolutely free trade regime within Canada". The ruling upholds the power of legislatures and democratic majorities to set economic policies.
The Canadian provinces have strict rules concerning such things as alcohol and tobacco that you can buy in one province and take across the provincial boundary into another.
Dan Paszkowski, president of the Canadian Vintners Association, is now hoping for signs of progress on trade liberalization in a forthcoming study being conducted under the terms of the Canadian trade agreement.
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