Inter-provincial trade - cross border beer case reaches the SCC | GTAMotorcycle.com

Inter-provincial trade - cross border beer case reaches the SCC

I just heard a brief thing on CBC about this. I had no idea you weren't allowed to take alcohol across provincial borders. I just assumed since you don't stop at a crossing with a guard it didn't matter, lol.
 
Ever look at a Labbat label and wonder why they had a brewery in every province? It goes back to the end of prohibition when the federal gov't gave the rights to the provinces over control of sale of liqour/beer. During the long beer strike in the 70's, before micro brews would have ruined the effects of a strike, the OPP had cruisers at the Que/ Ont borders on the 401 to prevent "importation" of pickup truck loads of beer.

An odd side effect of the strikes , a couple friends started making thier own beer, two now own micro breweries.
 
Don't tell the people of Ottawa who are regularly over in Hull buying beer, wine and spirits.
 
I sometimes wonder about the various free trade agreements NAFTA etc and how it affects local jobs. This is just a variant of the principle.

Supposedly the greater exchange creates wealth but that is somewhat dependent on trickle down. Are things trickling down to the little guy?

Isn't it a race to the bottom in many ways?
 
I work in the auto industry. You bet your bottom dollar NAFTA has made a big difference. Some parts of North American built vehicles cross the border 7 times before the vehicle ends up in the showroom. Free trade allows someone to build ONE plant anywhere in the free trade zone which supplies the entire zone, instead of having to build three smaller and less efficient plants. That, collectively, gives us a better chance at competing with China Inc.

The BMW assembly plant in Spartanburg, SC builds the BMW SUVs (X5, X6, etc) for the entire worldwide market. BMW cars are built elsewhere (mostly Germany). BMW exports more vehicles from the USA than it imports from the rest of the world (even though Europe is not part of the free trade zone). It still works out better to build all of the SUVs for worldwide sale from that one plant in Spartanburg and all of the 3-series for worldwide sale from another plant in Germany, than to build some of each in each plant. In the next town over from Spartanburg is an enormous Magna plant that supplies all of the exterior sheet metal and a good chunk of the underlying structural subassemblies. That one has kept me hopping ...

My van was put together in Mexico from sheet metal that came from a stamping plant in Italy, a transmission built in the USA, an engine assembled in Mexico from parts that came from the USA and Canada, including an oil pump assembly from a plant in southern Ontario that is also one of my customers ...

As far as beer is concerned, yeah, forcing breweries to have multiple facilities in separate provinces is a make-work project and that's why it has been like that for many decades, but when your competition is "the rest of the world" which doesn't have that problem, it is ultimately a losing proposition.
 
Molson merged with Coors (U.S.) and Labatts was bought by Interbrew (Belgian), and is now part of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (BUD), which is all over the place. Some plants make certain types of beer better than others.
 
^ this is true
Stella is better in Canada than Europe

funny enough it was made as a Christmas beer
for one specific market, at inception

and while Bud has fallen to disfavour most places
I still find US Bud pretty decent for a gas station beer

Molson Bud is on par with PBR
ie: if you find it somewhere free
in a pinch, it is serviceable
 
Don't tell the people of Ottawa who are regularly over in Hull buying beer, wine and spirits.

Costco in Hull for the 30 can 'suitcase' for less than a 24 in Ottawa...... not that I ever bought one, or six...
 
I work in the auto industry. You bet your bottom dollar NAFTA has made a big difference. Some parts of North American built vehicles cross the border 7 times before the vehicle ends up in the showroom. Free trade allows someone to build ONE plant anywhere in the free trade zone which supplies the entire zone, instead of having to build three smaller and less efficient plants. That, collectively, gives us a better chance at competing with China Inc.

The BMW assembly plant in Spartanburg, SC builds the BMW SUVs (X5, X6, etc) for the entire worldwide market. BMW cars are built elsewhere (mostly Germany). BMW exports more vehicles from the USA than it imports from the rest of the world (even though Europe is not part of the free trade zone). It still works out better to build all of the SUVs for worldwide sale from that one plant in Spartanburg and all of the 3-series for worldwide sale from another plant in Germany, than to build some of each in each plant. In the next town over from Spartanburg is an enormous Magna plant that supplies all of the exterior sheet metal and a good chunk of the underlying structural subassemblies. That one has kept me hopping ...

My van was put together in Mexico from sheet metal that came from a stamping plant in Italy, a transmission built in the USA, an engine assembled in Mexico from parts that came from the USA and Canada, including an oil pump assembly from a plant in southern Ontario that is also one of my customers ...

As far as beer is concerned, yeah, forcing breweries to have multiple facilities in separate provinces is a make-work project and that's why it has been like that for many decades, but when your competition is "the rest of the world" which doesn't have that problem, it is ultimately a losing proposition.

Protectionism is a double edged sword. A certain amount provides stability. Too much provides apathy. Nothing like someone after your job to keep you on your toes.
 
Another idiotic ruling made by left leaning judges. Talk about mealy-mouthed and unable to make a clear decision. They've handed a blank cheque to the provinces to enact any barriers they want. We're going to have to change the way judges are appointed to the high court. Too many bad rulings.
 
Has anyone watched that Netflix Docuseries that has the Maple Syrup Heist thing in it?

Basically they have a control board thing in Quebec that you have to sell your syrup to and they market it. Disagree or agree with it isn't the point here though. A Quebec producer decided to sell directly to a wholesaler in New Brunswick. So the producer was breaking his/her provincial laws, but the New Brunswick guy wasn't breaking his Provincial laws. Didn't matter because he still was convicted of something.
 
Government doesn't want corporations to get wealthier than them!
 
...
Basically they have a control board thing in Quebec that you have to sell your syrup to and they market it. Disagree or agree with it isn't the point here though. A Quebec producer decided to sell directly to a wholesaler in New Brunswick. So the producer was breaking his/her provincial laws, but the New Brunswick guy wasn't breaking his Provincial laws. Didn't matter because he still was convicted of something.

Should have called it Maple Candy, Maple Syrup by law has a very specific weight by volume and the quality grading is determined by colour clarity. Call it Maple Candy and you can sell it anyway or anywhere you like, no specs or grading applies just as long it is derived from 100% pure Maple Tree Sap. ... well actually 100% pure is not entirely accurate either, because some people like to tap a few Birch trees and throw that into the mix.
 
Has anyone watched that Netflix Docuseries that has the Maple Syrup Heist thing in it?

Basically they have a control board thing in Quebec that you have to sell your syrup to and they market it. Disagree or agree with it isn't the point here though. A Quebec producer decided to sell directly to a wholesaler in New Brunswick. So the producer was breaking his/her provincial laws, but the New Brunswick guy wasn't breaking his Provincial laws. Didn't matter because he still was convicted of something.

Dirty Money.A real eye opener.The syrup segment was good.The segment about Payday Loans was really brutal.
 
Has anyone watched that Netflix Docuseries that has the Maple Syrup Heist thing in it?

Basically they have a control board thing in Quebec that you have to sell your syrup to and they market it. Disagree or agree with it isn't the point here though. A Quebec producer decided to sell directly to a wholesaler in New Brunswick. So the producer was breaking his/her provincial laws, but the New Brunswick guy wasn't breaking his Provincial laws. Didn't matter because he still was convicted of something.
That's nothing new, Ontario has protectionist 'marketing boards' for eggs, chicken, dairy, & pork. These boards regulate production and pricing with a mandate to protect producer profits.

Producers are subsidized through guaranteed sale of their quota at a price that guarantees profits. A small number of producers (and fat boards) benefit, a whole lot of business and consumers pay for these subsidies.
 
The segment about Payday Loans was really brutal.

I am honestly baffled that we allow these places to exist, unless there is a niche legitimate use case for them I'm not aware of
 

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