Breweries make case that Alberta’s beer tax system is unconstitutional
CALGARY — Lawyers for two breweries challenged the constitutionality of Alberta’s tax system on small breweries Thursday, arguing the system unfairly favours producers in the province.
Toronto-based Steam Whistle Brewing and Saskatoon-based Great Western Brewing Co. say the system, which charges all small breweries $1.25 per litre sold but returns much of that to Alberta producers in the form of a grant, effectively provides an unconstitutional trade barrier.
The system replaced an earlier tax regime, the New West Partnership Trade Agreement, that gave brewers in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan a more direct tax advantage over those in the rest of Canada. Steam Whistle secured an injunction against the old system in January last year.
Andrew Stead, lawyer for Steam Whistle, said the NWPTA imposed in October 2015 was an obvious barrier to interprovincial trade.