Refined Fool Beers (Photo by Briana Carnegie)

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It’s easier for Sarnia’s Refined Fool Brewing Company to ship product to the U.S. than it is to other parts of Canada.

Alberta Conservative MP John Barlow is urging the public to support the “Free the Beer” campaign.

During a live broadcast of CHOK’s “The Talk Show” from Ottawa, Barlow says craft brewers, distillers and winemakers are hindered by senseless interprovincial trade barriers.

“It’s much easier for them to be able to sell to Texas than Calgary,” says Barlow. “It just doesn’t make any sense, it’s really put a stifle to our economy, and we need to support these Canadian businesses who are hiring Canadians, using Canadian products like barley, rye and other grains. It just doesn’t make sense that we’re not supporting them.”

Barlow says they’re petitioning the federal government to intervene in a pending Supreme Court of Canada (SCOC) case involving a New Brunswick man who was charged for importing beer from Quebec.

The court agreed earlier this month to hear a Crown appeal of the New Brunswick ruling that overturns the ban on bringing alcohol across provincial borders.

Barlow, the Conservative Critic for Interprovincial Trade, argues free trade is a constitutional right.

“Many of us do it, not understanding or realizing that it is technically illegal. Why, for me as a consumer, should a provincial liquor board be able to tell me what I can and cannot have?” he says.

Further information can be found at freethebeer.net