Supreme Court decision means an end to cross-border beer runs: Comeau
FREDERICTON — A New Brunswick man whose beer run to Quebec in 2012 sparked a constitutional battle over cross-border liquor sales says the Supreme Court of Canada has put an end to his beer-buying trips.
Gerard Comeau was reacting Thursday to the court’s decision to affirm the constitutionality of a New Brunswick law that limits the possession of alcohol not purchased through the province’s liquor stores.
“If it’s against the law, it’s against the law,” Comeau said in an interview.
The unanimous decision effectively preserves the current trade regime, in which provinces have the power to restrict commerce if there is another overriding purpose. In this case, it’s the province’s the desire to control the supply of alcohol.