Acquittal of cross-border beer shopper still stands

New Brunswick's cross-border beer bust case could be headed for the Supreme Court of Canada.

The New Brunswick Court of Appeal has ruled it will not hear the province's appeal of the acquittal of Gerard Comeau of Tracadie.

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Comeau was charged with exceeding the limit on beer and liquor that can be brought into New Brunswick from another province when he imported 14 cases of beer and three bottles of liquor from Quebec.

But the provincial court judge in the case acquitted Comeau, ruling the restrictions were unconstitutional.

Section 121 of the 1867 Constitution says products from any province "shall ... be admitted free into each of the other provinces."

Lawyers for the attorneygeneral's office argued the judge made legal mistakes in his interpretation of that section by ignoring other Supreme Court of Canada rulings that interpreted it differently.

The appeal court's decision to not hear the case, by Justice Margaret Larlee, did not give any reasons.

The decision means that if the province wants Comeau's acquittal overturned, it will now have to take the case to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Comeau's defence was funded by the Canadian Constitution Foundation, a private libertarian group that wants interprovincial trade barriers eliminated.

The foundation has said its goal is to force the case to the Supreme Court for a precedent-setting ruling.

Other provinces have been watching the Comeau case for its possible impact on their own liquor import regulations.