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For Immediate
Release: Unilever
Files Motion Against Quebec Attorney General for Failure to Repeal Colour
Restriction and Illegal Margarine Seizure Colour
Restriction violates NAFTA, Agreement on Internal Trade, Charter of Rights and
Freedoms February 5, 1998 (Toronto) -- Unilever Canada Limited today
filed a motion in Quebec Superior Court to have Quebec’s margarine colour
restriction declared constitutionally invalid, and to quash the seizure of
yellow margarine from an Alma, Quebec grocery store last November. The motion -- for declaratory judgment, for mandamus, to
quash a seizure and notice to obtain a declaration of constitutional invalidity
-- comes after a year and half of Unilever’s efforts to encourage the Quebec
government to meet its obligations under the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT)
and repeal the margarine colour regulation.
Under the AIT, the Province of Quebec was obligated to repeal the colour
regulation by September 1, 1997, but failed to do so. The colour regulation costs Unilever through its Lipton
operating division -- manufacturer of becel,
Monarch, and Fleischmann’s margarine -- about $100,000 per month due to the
need to operate separate production runs and maintain double inventories, one
for Quebec and another for the rest of Canada. Last November, Unilever attempted to initiate a legal test
case by importing yellow margarine from the United States making it available
for sale in one grocery store in Alma, Quebec.
In an apparent effort to deprive Unilever of its right to judicial
determination, the government seized the margarine but did not prosecute, thus
forcing Unilever to initiate the legal action filed today with Quebec Superior
Court. “It is unfortunate that a private company such as ours is
forced to ask the court for an order commanding the Quebec government to meet
its legal obligations,” said
Bruce I. Mactaggart, Vice-President, General Counsel and Secretary of Unilever
Canada Limited. “Nevertheless, we
intend to pursue this matter vigourously until the margarine colour regulation
is repealed, the Quebec government’s illegal seizure is nullified and our
property is returned to us.” The motion argues that the colour regulation is in violation of a total of eleven laws, regulations, decrees, federal-provincial agreements such as the AIT, and international agreements including the North American Free Trade Agreement and World Trade Organization Agreement. In addition, Unilever is arguing that the colour restriction violates the principles of Canadian federalism and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The motion also contends that the Government of Quebec has
already implicitly repealed the
colour restriction through approval of the Agreement on Internal Trade and
through adoption of legislative measures to implement the North American Free
Trade Agreement. The North American Free Trade Agreement, which is enshrined
in Canadian law, refers to the CODEX Alimentarius Commission which sets a
standard for food additives and food colouring. Provincial standards demanding levels of colour which are
used for the sole purpose of making a product unattractive are prohibited under
NAFTA as a disguised restriction on trade.
Quebec is the only jurisdiction in North America that enforces a
margarine colour regulation. Regarding the seizure of yellow margarine from the Alma
Quebec store, the motion argues that this seizure is “illegal and null because
the underlying infraction... is constitutionally inapplicable, invalid,
inoperative and abrogated.” In
addition, the motion argues that the seizure is “unreasonable” since the
government did not pursue penal proceedings against Unilever even though the
government was aware of all the facts and no further investigation was
necessary. Unilever’s legal opinion was prepared last fall by
McCarthy Tetrault and will be argued by
Mr. Gerald Tremblay, Q.C. of McCarthy Tetrault
in Quebec Superior Court on behalf of Unilever. Unilever
Canada Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Unilever, is a diversified consumer
products company whose interests in Canada include Lever Pond's, Lipton, Good
Humor-Breyers, Lipton Monarch, A & W Beverages of Canada, Loders Croklaan,
Blue Water Seafoods, DiverseyLever Canada, Calvin Klein Cosmetics (Canada),
Elizabeth Arden Canada, and Bertolli Canada. -- 30 -- For Information: Sean McPhee Mr. Gerald Tremblay, Q.C.
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