{"id":3332,"date":"2019-08-08T14:07:38","date_gmt":"2019-08-08T14:07:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/perlaw.ca\/?p=3332"},"modified":"2019-08-14T14:10:35","modified_gmt":"2019-08-14T14:10:35","slug":"access-to-interprovincial-trade-in-alcohol-improving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/perlaw.ca\/fr\/2019\/08\/08\/access-to-interprovincial-trade-in-alcohol-improving\/","title":{"rendered":"Access to Interprovincial Trade in Alcohol Improving"},"content":{"rendered":"

In April 2018, the Supreme Court of Canada issued its decision in R v Comeau, 2018 SCC 15, regarding the constitutional right of the provinces to restrict the trade of alcohol across provinces. The Supreme Court unanimously held that provinces can limit the interprovincial trade of alcohol, so long as the primary aim of any such legislation is not to impede trade. In this case, the Court concluded that the primary objective of the New Brunswick legislation at issue was to serve the interests of public health and safety within New Brunswick. A summary of the \u201cFree the Beer\u201d decision can be found\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On April 9, 2019, almost a year after the Supreme Court of Canada\u2019s decision, the Minister of Intergovernmental and Northern Affairs and Internal Trade highlighted plans to eliminate the remaining federal barrier to trade in alcoholic beverages within Canada.[1]<\/sup> As outlined in the 2019 federal budget and\u00a0Bill C-97<\/a>, the Government of Canada has introduced legislation which will remove the federal requirement that alcohol moving from one province to another go through a provincial liquor authority.<\/p>\n

This federal requirement is contained in the\u00a0Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(the \u201cAct\u201d), which will now be amended to limit its application to the importation of intoxicating liquors into Canada, rather than into and throughout (i.e., inter-provincially) Canada.<\/p>\n

Once these changes enter into force, the Government of Canada will have lifted all federal impediments to alcohol moving across borders within Canada. The only remaining barriers fall under provincial and territorial jurisdiction. As a result, it will be up to the provinces and territories to amend their own laws in order to allow the free movement of alcohol, including direct-to-consumer shipping across Canada.<\/p>\n

For its part, the Ontario government released its\u00a02019 budget<\/a>\u00a0on April 11, 2019. It included plans to loosen a number of restrictions with respect to the sale and consumption of alcohol. Some of the key proposals include:<\/p>\n