Gerard Comeau thought nothing of his 2012 trip from New Brunswick to Quebec and back again to pick up a carload of beer. He lived close to the border in Tracadie, N.B., and the prices were cheaper in Quebec. It seemed like a no-brainer.
He certainly didn’t expect a police sting, a five-year legal battle and a Supreme Court of Canada decision saying he didn’t have the right to purchase that beer without impediment.
“I can go buy any material anywhere in Canada. You can go buy 20 shirts in Quebec, no problem. Why wouldn’t you be able to buy beer,” said Comeau, over a decade after that fateful beer run.
But Comeau’s quest to “free the beer” is once again in the spotlight as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens Canada with tariffs and interprovincial trade gets another look.
The looming threat of those tariffs has Canadian premiers vowing to remove interprovincial trade barriers, which the federal government says could add an estimated $200 billion to Canada’s economy.
Internal Trade Minister Anita Anand announced on Feb. 21 that the federal government would remove 20 of the 39 exceptions in the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, with most related to government procurement.
“One of Canada’s strongest trading partners is Canada. We are all hands on deck to promote freer trade here at home,” Anand said in a statement.
Those who have been pushing for free internal trade say it’s about time. Others say it’s still not enough, and if Canada is going to make it through Trump’s trade war, more needs to be done. But not everyone is convinced.
Comeau gets caught
Comeau had no idea he was driving his beer into a trap in 2012. Court documents say the RCMP in New Brunswick were concerned about how often people were going to Quebec to buy beer, so they set up a two-day sting to crack down on it.
Comeau bought a lot of beer, along with two bottles of whiskey and one bottle of liqueur. The purchase was well over what was allowed.
So, on his return trip, the RCMP pulled Comeau over, slapped him with a nearly $300 fine and confiscated his booze.
Comeau was determined to fight the fine, as it came with a provincial offence. That’s when Toronto lawyer Arnold Schwisberg approached Comeau about taking on his case pro bono, funded by the Canadian Constitution Foundation.
“I say this with admiration. Mr. Comeau is Joe Canadian. He is so relatable,” said Schwisberg.
Schwisberg had long thought the provincial trade laws were unconstitutional, specifically those around buying booze, and he wanted a chance to challenge them in court. He felt Comeau had the perfect case.
“I truly believed then, as I believe now, that the…
Read More: What the ‘Free the Beer’ case can teach us about interprovincial trade