The Supreme Court of Canada has affirmed the constitutionality of a New Brunswick law that ensnared a man who brought home a trunkload of beer and liquor from neighbouring Quebec.

The unanimous high court decision Thursday effectively preserves the current trade regime, saying provinces have the power to enact laws that restrict commerce if there is another overriding purpose 91裸聊视频� in this case the desire to control the supply of alcohol within New Brunswick.

In October 2012, Gerard Comeau of Tracadie, N.B., drove across the border to Quebec to buy several cases of beer and some liquor from three stores.

Comeau was fined $240 and administrative fees under New Brunswick91裸聊视频檚 Liquor Control Act for being in possession of a large amount of alcohol he had not purchased through his province91裸聊视频檚 liquor corporation.

The trial judge accepted Comeau91裸聊视频檚 argument the Liquor Control Act provision amounted to a trade barrier that violated Section 121 of the Constitution Act, 1867.

The Constitution Act section says, 91裸聊视频淎ll 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.91裸聊视频�

The New Brunswick attorney general was denied leave to challenge the trial judge91裸聊视频檚 decision in the provincial Court of Appeal, but the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, ultimately siding with the province.

Comeau, a 64-year-old retired power linesman, said he wasn91裸聊视频檛 entirely surprised by the decision.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 not really disappointed,91裸聊视频� he said in Campbellton, N.B. 91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 not really sad. I got an answer to what the law is.91裸聊视频�

Comeau said he91裸聊视频檚 unlikely to continue buying beer in Quebec. 91裸聊视频淚f it91裸聊视频檚 against the law, it91裸聊视频檚 against the law.91裸聊视频�

For Comeau, the case was simply about his right to stock up on cheaper suds. But for provinces and territories, business interests and economists, it was about whether the correct interpretation of the Constitution entailed full economic integration, potentially reshaping the federation.

In its reasons, the Supreme Court said New Brunswick91裸聊视频檚 ability to exercise oversight over liquor supplies in the province 91裸聊视频渨ould be undermined if non-corporation liquor could flow freely across borders and out of the garages of bootleggers and home brewers.91裸聊视频�

The framers of the Constitution agreed that individual provinces needed to relinquish their tariff powers, the court said. In this vein, the historical context supports the view that Section 121 forbids imposition of tariffs 91裸聊视频� and tariff-like measures 91裸聊视频� that impose charges on goods crossing provincial boundaries.

However, the historical evidence nowhere suggests that provinces would lose their power to legislate for the benefit of their constituents, even if that might affect interprovincial trade.

91裸聊视频淪ection 121 does not impose absolute free trade across Canada,91裸聊视频� the decision says.

Rather, the historical and legislative context 91裸聊视频� and underlying constitutional principles 91裸聊视频� support a flexible view, 91裸聊视频渙ne that respects an appropriate balance between federal and provincial powers and allows legislatures room to achieve policy objectives that may have the incidental effect of burdening the passage of goods across provincial boundaries.91裸聊视频�

The B.C. Wine Institute and its members said unfair interprovincial trade barriers have impeded Canada91裸聊视频檚 wine industry growth and prevented consumers from purchasing the Canadian wines of their choice.

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