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OTTAWA — The lawyer attempting to open up free trade for alcohol in Canada got a rocky reception from Supreme Court justices on Thursday, as they cast a skeptical eye on his contention that tight restrictions on moving booze across provincial boundaries are unconstitutional.

At issue is Section 121 of Canada’s Constitution Act, 1867, which says that “All Articles of the Growth, Produce, or Manufacture of any one of the Provinces shall, from and after the Union, be admitted free into each of the other Provinces.”

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Gerard Comeau, a retired New Brunswick man, used that section to successfully challenge a $292.50 ticket he was given for bringing beer and liquor from Quebec home to drink. The provincial court accepted his argument that New Brunswick’s law against purchasing alcohol from anyone other than the provincial liquor corporation was unconstitutional.

The province says allowing this decision to stand will undermine Canada’s entire system of federalism and, after the New Brunswick Court of Appeal declined to hear the appeal, the case is now before Canada’s highest court.