Edmonton-area distillery fights AGLC in court over regulations, licence suspensions
CBC
A small distillery near Edmonton's airport is fighting Alberta's liquor agency in court after the regulator cancelled the company's liquor licences last month and banned it from holding one for five years.
In a June 29 decision, a board panel found Red Cup Distillery had violated the Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Act (GLCA) by bypassing Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) and selling tens of thousands of cases of vodka to a retailer through a supplier.
The decision is the latest in a series of disputes in which the agency has accused the company of not reporting and remitting alcohol sales, avoiding AGLC's regulatory process and not paying required markups.
According to the GLCA, Alberta liquor manufacturers must sell their products to businesses through the AGLC unless their liquor licence allows otherwise. The regulator collects the wholesale price, deducts recycling fees and deposits, keeps a provincial markup and remits the balance to the manufacturer.
Red Cup has two liquor licences — one that allows it to make liquor (Class E) and another that allows selling it to be consumed elsewhere (Class D). AGLC's handbook for liquor manufacturers says when a Class E manufacturer sells to its Class D licence, the sale must go through AGLC.
Red Cup Distillery's owner, Rob de Groot, told CBC News the company has reported all sales to regulatory authorities and that its licence does allow selling to other parties.
He said AGLC has been overstepping its bounds and trying to shut his business down so he is fighting back in court — over this decision and a previous one.
"I'll keep fighting. Failure is not an option," he told CBC News in an interview at the business on Wednesday.
Red Cup applied for a judicial review of the June hearing decision and a Court of King's Bench judge ordered an interim stay of the licence cancellations.
That means the company can continue operating in the meantime.
A spokesperson said AGLC could not comment on the matter because it's before the courts.
Red Cup Distillery, which has been around since 2015 and moved to the airport in 2018, manufactures vodka, gin and rye.
The company has about 30 employees and in addition to local sales, exports to the U.S. and South Africa.
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