'Low-key guy' behind free-the-beer case awaits Supreme Court decision

A New Brunswick manwhoseso-called "free the beer" case is now in the hands of the country's highest court says he isn't sure what to expect.

"It might go either way," saysGerardComeau, 64, ofTracadie, a small community some 160 kilometres north of Moncton.

But afterfive years of fighting for the right to buy cheap beer in neighbouring Quebec, he says he's anxious for a ruling from the Supreme Court of Canada.

"I just want to know what is the law, what am I entitled to?"

• Chief justice warns cross-border beer decision could create 'uncertainty'
• New Brunswick needs alcohol revenue to cover social costs of drinking, Supreme Court told

Comeau, a retired NB Power lineman, was stopped at the New Brunswick-Quebec border byRCMPin 2012 andfined $292.50 for having 14 cases of beer, two bottles of whisky and one bottle of liqueur in his vehicle.

The New Brunswick Liquor Control Act sets apersonal importation limit of12pints ofbeer (about 18 cans or bottles), or one bottle ofwine or spirits.

Comeausays he routinely bought alcohol in Quebecwhere it's cheaper.

He still doesat least two or three times a year.

Bargain-hunter

He has friends in Campbellton, so if he's going to visit them, he just drives across theJ.C. Van Horne Bridge to the border town of Pointe--la-Croix, Que.

"I'm not going tomake a special trip just to go there to pick up a couple of cases ofbeer," he says, noting it's afour-hour return drivefrom his home.

But he likes a bargain, he says, and when he makes the trip, a friend or one of his 10 siblings sometimesasks him to pick up a case for them too.

Comeaudoesn't see anything wrong with that.

"You're a Canadian citizen and the Constitution gives you the right to go buy your merchandise wherever you like in the country and take it home," he says.

Didn't watch hearing

He fought the charge and Provincial Court Judge Ronald Leblanc acquitted him in April 2016. LeBlanc ruled the liquor restriction was unconstitutional becauseSection121 of the ConstitutionAct states productsfrom any province "shall be admitted free into each of the other provinces."

New Brunswick's attorney general is now asking the top court to overrule that decision, arguing it would "redesign Canadian federalism" as we know it.

During a two-day hearing earlier this week, Crown prosecutor Bill Richards also told the court the province needs the net$167 million annual revenue from its liquor monopolyto help pay for its constitutional obligations, such schools, hospitals, policing andhighways.

Comeau's lawyer Ian Blue argued any barriers to interprovincialtradewhether they're tariffs or non-tariff restrictions that make importing and exporting products difficult or costly should have to demonstrate they serve a "higher purpose," are non-protectionist and minimally intrusive.

The court also heard arguments fromthe federal government, seven other provinces and two territories, as well as a dozen interveners ranging from small wineries and beer giants, to a marijuana advocacy group and a consumer organization.

Comeau didn't attend the hearing in Ottawa or even watch the livestreamof the proceedings online.

"I'm an old man with no computer," he says.

But he's hopeful "all thistalkoffree trade" might help his case. "[PrimeMinister Justin]Trudeauwants it with China, he wants it with Europe, he wants it with the U.S.and Mexicoand different countries.

"So if you're going tohave free tradeglobal,you better start byhavingit in your own country."

Strong support

A recent poll by Ipsossuggeststhe majority of Canadians agree with Comeau.

It found 89per cent of respondents think they should be allowed to bring any legally purchased product from one province to another, while 78per cent said they think they should be able to bring any amount of beer or wine they buy in one province into another.

A total of 1,103 people were interviewed for the poll. Itwascommissioned bythe Montreal Economic Institute, one of the interveners in the case, the Canadian Constitution Foundation, which is backingComeau'slegal fight, and the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies. The results are accurate to within plus or minus 3.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

I don't have to buy an overpriced product to pay for the province's debt. Gerard Comeau

Comeausays he's "got nothing against" the provinces having limits on what businesses can import.

"But that doesn't give them the right to take away myright[as an individual]to go shop somewhere elsethat'scheaper. That's the way I look at it," he says.

"I don't have to buy an overpriced product to pay for the province's debt.

"Whether it be beer or anything else, there's always a point where people just decide, 'No I'm not goingtobuy that anymore, the price is too high. I'm going to buy it somewhere where it's cheaper.'"

His pluck has earned him celebrity status.

"People keep recognizing me and they keep telling me that I'm doing the right thing, that somebody should have done something about that before and it's about time it's settled," he says.

Hashtagslike #Comeau and #FreeTheBeer have also popped up on social media.

Comeau admits he's enjoying the attention "a little bit."

"I'm not really worked up over that all that much," he says. "I'm just a low-key kind of guy."