FREDERICTON - For New Brunswick residents frustrated at the inability to purchase less expensive beer from other provinces, they??ve found a voice in the legal system: A northern New Brunswick lawyer has sued the province over its liquor rules that restrict how much alcohol citizens can import from other provinces, CBC News reports.
Last October, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) charged 17 people with illegally importing beer from Quebec, seizing about 5,000 bottles and cans of beer. Each offender was handed a several hundred-dollar fine.
New Brunswick prohibits people from bringing more than one bottle of wine or liquor or 12 pints of beer into the province that were purchased in other provinces.
Mikael Bernard, a lawyer from Balmoral, said people in northern New Brunswick routinely travel into Quebec to purchase alcohol, where it can be half the price of alcohol sold in New Brunswick. He said he would provide pro bono representation to anybody who has been charged with violating the law.
New Brunswick??s Liquor Control Act is more than 60 years old and Bernard contends it has been superseded by Canada??s constitution. He said it doesn??t make sense that the rule is more stringent for people purchasing beer from other Canadian provinces than in the United States.
"I've purchased liquor in the United States and I've declared it at the border and duty free no problem. I didn't have to show even a receipt," he said.
NB Liquor, which is responsible for the purchase, importation, distribution, and retail activity for all alcohol in New Brunswick, previously has attempted to address the issue of people purchasing cheaper alcohol outside the province by brewing its own discount beer in 2009. But Selection Lager was a flop for the government-brewed beer.
Last spring, the Crown-owned liquor corporation introduced six discount brands that were $5 cheaper than regular beer. Sales were strong and the corporation added a seventh beer to the list while extending the promotion for five months.
New Brunswick has also appealed to its citizens to revise its liquor rules. The Department of Public Safety held a public consultation tour in the summer, seeking ideas for updating the Liquor Control Act, which was enacted in 1961.