NB Liquor, province still mum on booze ruling

NB Liquor and the provincial government still aren't saying how they will respond to a landmark court ruling that allows consumers to buy booze in other provinces and bring it home.

The government was tight-lipped Monday on whether it will appeal the acquittal of Tracadie resident Gérard​ Comeau.

"Government continues to review the decision so we won't be commenting at this time," said spokesperson Elaine Bell.

NB Liquor won't say whether it plans any changes to its daily operations to persuade New Brunswickers not to drive to neighbouring provinces for cheaper beer.

"As the matter is still within the appeal period, it would be inappropriate for ANBL to comment any further at this time," spokesperson Mark Barbour said.

Significant ruling

Everyone else, however, was talking about the potentially historic ruling.

"I serve people who mainly drink beer, and they all like it," said Fredericton bar owner Doug Williams. "It's very positive around here."

On Friday, Judge Ronald LeBlanc acquitted Comeau by striking down Section 134(b) of the Liquor Control Act, which prevents New Brunswickers from having alcohol in the province bought from someone other than NB Liquor.

He said that violates Section 121 of the 1867 Constitution, which says that any "articles" grown, produced, or manufactured in any province "shall … be admitted free into each of the other provinces."

LeBlanc ruled that a 1921 ruling by the Privy Council in London, then the court of last appeal for Canada, had interpreted that section too narrowly.

Comeau had travelled across the river from Campbellton, N. B. to buy a large amount of beer and whisky on the Quebec side of the bridge.

Appeal seems likely

Universite de Moncton law professor Nicolas Lambert says New Brunswick's Attorney General will almost certainly appeal the decision, and that it will likely end up at the Supreme Court of Canada.

"This is the first judgment that takes on the old Gold Seal case of 1921," he said. "This is a precedent that has stood for almost a hundred years, and it basically says a province can literally prohibit certain products from entering a province."

Once it reaches the appeal court level, Lambert says, other provinces will likely join the case as parties or intervenors, since at that point a higher court ruling could affect all provincial liquor corporations.

Conservative MP Dan Albas says rather than allow a costly and slow route through three levels of court appeals, the federal government should refer the case to the Supreme Court now.

Albas is the British Columbia MP who introduced legislation in 2011 to create a personal exemption to let people carry small amounts of wine across provincial borders for personal use.

The Harper government later added beer and cider to the bill, which passed in 2012.

Not just liquor

Albas's exemption was still subject to provincial regulation, and not all provinces have signed on.

He says the New Brunswick ruling forces provinces to "look in the mirror as to whether they really want to continue their quest to protect their monopoly positions."

Albas says if higher courts uphold LeBlanc's ruling that Section 121 is unconstitutional, the implications would be "quite far-reaching," affecting not just liquor regulation but also provincial marketing board rules set up to protect the egg and dairy sectors.

That's why Ottawa should move quickly to get a Supreme Court ruling that would clear up the issue, Albas said.

'1950s problem'

Williams, who owns a bar, says the provincial government could act on its own by dismantling NB Liquor.

The Crown corporation "is a solution to a 1950s problem," he said. "There's no civilized society outside Canada that operates a liquor system like this."

NB Liquor brought in more than $160 million in revenue for the province in 2014-15, but Williams says the province doesn't need to give up that revenue even if it gets out of the liquor store business.

"If government just wants tax money from this, they can set up a system very similar to cigarettes, or gasoline, for example. Gasoline's very heavily taxed, but government doesn't have to be a retailer, and doesn't have to be a wholesaler. They don't have to determine what products are available. Let the market decide."