New Brunswickers are now enjoying significantly lower beer prices thanks to Gerard Comeau, his team of pro bono lawyers and the Canadian Constitution Foundation. Where a 24-can pack of beer like Budweiser or Coors used to cost $43, it’s now only $36. That’s because, last spring, a New Brunswick court
Who would have guessed that the question of what kind of beer Canadians enjoy and the reason for this long weekend are so clearly entwined with constitutional declarations made 150 years ago. Canadians can raise a glass to our founders this weekend, and make a toast to their support of
Once again, Alberta’s NDP government is in a familiar position: defending the constitutionality of their craft brewery policy. While many Albertans might agree with the general idea of favouring local brewers or promoting the local industry — or even fighting fire with fire when it comes to protectionist policies —
If you’re on vacation abroad somewhere this summer and find yourself explaining to people over dinner what makes Canada so unique and special, use the story about Gerard Comeau and his beer run back in 2012. There is no more Canadian story than that. Comeau is a Canadian who, looking
Until a few years ago, the main concern in the Canadian debate over health policy was how to control costs. When provinces managed to restrain health-care spending growth to an average rate below that of the economy as a whole (since 2010), that concern subsided somewhat; we had “bent the
What motivated Finance Minister Joe Ceci to impose a discriminatory tax on out-of-province beer back in October 2015? Was it to diversify the Alberta economy while leveling the playing field for the local brewing industry, as he later claimed? Internal government documents filed with the court in connection with Steam
It’s a little bit rich for me when I hear the Alberta Government invoke the constitution to explain why the new NDP-Green coalition government in BC cannot block a federally approved pipeline. The Alberta government is only a friend of convenience when it comes to the constitution. It shouldn’t be
Sometimes the squeaky wheel gets the grease, sometimes it gets removed. Karen MacKinnon, a former councillor from the Alberta town of Drumheller, knows this from experience. On March 25, 2011, MacKinnon was arrested and charged with defamatory libel under section 301 of the Criminal Code after she posted on Facebook
Owners of a Calgary-based beer importing company say changes to provincial beer taxation have destroyed their business. They took their complaint to the Internal Trade Secretariat Thursday in Edmonton. Mike Tessier, president of Artisan Ales, believes the changes the Alberta government made to beer tax policies in 2015 and 2016
