Campus Conservatives fight to #FreetheBeer

Alex Shchupak | Contributor

Featured image courtesy of dogtulosba (Flickr) 

On September 21, Campus Conservatives at York University, or CCYU, gathered at Shopsy’s in York Lanes to show their support for Gerard Comeau and promote the hashtag #freethebeer as part of a campaign promoting the freedom to purchase alcohol from other provinces without legal consequences.

The #freethebeer campaign comes off the trails of the recent provincial court toss of a 2012 ruling, where New Brunswick man Comeau was fined almost $300 and had his alcohol seized. Comeau had brought 14 cases of beer and three bottles of liquor in from Quebec.

Comeau has since appealed the decision on constitutional grounds, and the case was thrown out as it violated the constitution’s free-trade provisions.

“The overarching issue here is that the Trudeau Liberals disrespect the idea that [Canada is] a federation, a family of provinces,” says Jonah Hart, vice president of CCYU.

Daniel Paterson, director of student issues at Glendon College New Democrats, understands that substances have different levels of legality in different regions, but believes they should not be restricted in this way while in the same country. “I believe that there should be unhindered freedom of transportation between the provinces and territories. The decision to block this from becoming a federal precedent serves only to hamper the rights of Canadians,” he adds.

The New Brunswick Liquor Control Act prohibits anyone in the province from having more than one bottle of alcohol or wine or 12 pints of beer that weren’t purchased through a liquor store in the province. This allows for the New Brunswick alcohol monopoly, New Brunswick Liquor Corp, to charge double the price than in Quebec.

“The way I look at it, I’m a Canadian citizen,” said Comeau. “I don’t see any reason why I can’t go buy merchandise anywhere in this country and bring it home. You can buy anything else like cars, clothes, everything. Except for beer.”

According to section 121 of the Constitution Act, “All articles of the growth, produce or manufacture of any of the provinces shall, from and after the Union, be admitted free into each of the other provinces.”

Conservative MP Dan Albas put forward a motion to ask the Supreme Court to reassess the constitutionality of cross-provincial limitations for alcohol, but the bill was shot down by the Liberal majority, with a 184-131 vote.