Tuesday, 25 August 2015

New Brunswick Liquor Limits

Will the New Brunswick provincial court find that interprovincial liquor limits are unconstitutional in the case of Gerard Comeau?
Yes: 20%
(The initial decision of the court is all that matters for this question; results on subsequent appeals do not matter.  This question is about the constitutionality of liquor limits, not the judgement against Comeau per se.  A partial finding of unconstitutionality counts)

Gerald Comeau, a New Brunswick resident, is currently challenging a New Brunswick law which limits importation of alcohol into New Brunswick from other provinces (see story here).  He had been caught transporting alcohol into New Brunswick from Quebec by the RCMP.

This sort of case seems like a tough fight for the defendants.  The law in question has been around for a long time, as have interprovincial trade barriers more generally.  The Supreme Court seems to have acquiesced to such barriers in a 1921 decision.  Part of the purpose of this sort of case is to generate discussion about the law in question, even if the case itself is ultimately unsuccessful.

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