The New Brunswick government says their hands are tied in the wake of a judge’s ruling that allowed the inter-provincial transportation of alcohol from Quebec, and that they must await a decision on whether or not to appeal from the public prosecution service.
READ MORE: New Brunswick man acquitted on charges of illegally importing beer from Quebec
“This is not a government decision, it’s judicial,” says NB Public Safety Minister Stephen Horsman. “The public prosecution will deal with it.”
“We don’t interfere with judges’ rulings.”
For some, the waiting game isn’t ideal.
Fredericton’s Picaroons Traditional Ales owner Sean Dunbar says he isn’t sure what the ruling will mean but can see some areas that could cause concern.
“It sets up a situation that’s going to be a bit strange,” says Dunbar of a potential change to the law. “New Brunswick consumers can now go and buy huge volumes of beer directly from Quebec brewers and pay absolutely no mark up or tax on that beer whereas my same consumers need to go through a restricted access system in New Brunswick in order to get their hands on our beer and they have to pay a tax to do that.”
READ MORE: New Brunswick court ruling on cross-border beer imports boosts sales in Quebec
Opposition Leader Bruce Fitch sees the ruling as a potential changing of the guard.
“There was a substantial amount occurring as I understand,” says Fitch. “So this was, I think, a test-case to really say ‘is this constitutional, not constitutional?'”
“You can spend a lot of time fighting this but I think the reality of the situation is that’s the way the population is moving,” says Fitch.
Attorney General Serge Rousselle wouldn’t speculate on where the case will go from here and says the government is just as interested in where the case will go as the public.
“For now we are waiting,” says Rousselle. “I know they’re working very hard, 86-page decision, they have 30 days to file the appeal or not. So we are waiting as everybody else in the province to see what will be the decision.”
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