Television personality and producer Terry David Mulligan says he’s willing to go to jail to draw attention to what he considers an archaic federal law that needs to be scrapped.
Mulligan, a former MuchMusic VJ-producer and former Black Hills Estate Winery principal, says he plans to drive to Alberta “as soon as possible” and have himself filmed carrying a bottle of wine across the B.C.-Alberta border.
He will then tweet the photos, put them on Facebook and encourage media to disseminate images.
Canada’s Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act forbids anyone from crossing a provincial boundary with wine, beer or spirits.
Those found guilty of doing so face the prospect of a fine up to $200 and, in default of payment, imprisonment for up to three months.
“I’ve been thinking about doing this for two years,” Mulligan told Business in Vancouver April 7. “I love the civil disobedience thing. That 1928 law is from a time and place that is gone.
“We will soon be ordering and buying wines on the Internet via our handheld mobile devices. It’s time to correct this law and move on.”
Mulligan alerted a roundtable of Canadian wine industry insiders of his intentions on March 30. He told the Canadian Wine Summit panel that it should not passively adhere to the law.
Rather, they should be encouraging federal politicians now campaigning for votes to vow to eliminate the law.
Recently, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) threatened Mission Hill Family Estate Winery with consequences if it did not block out-of-province orders for wine on its website.
The Manitoba Liquor Control Commission similarly told Red Rooster Winery to stop offering out-of-province wines on itswebsite.
“I will advise people in those liquor control boards of what I’m doing and ask them to charge me under the law,” Mulligan said.
Mulligan has a history of taunting government organizations that he believes restrict freedom.
In February, he played the Dire Straits song “Money for Nothing” on his CKUA radio show Mulligan Stew.
A month earlier, the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council ruled that the song was banned from being played on Canadian radio because its lyrics contain the word “faggot” and somebody had complained.
Many music lovers were surprised by the ruling because the 27-year-old song had been played countless times and the use of the word came from a character in the song who was created to sound ignorant.
The CBSC has yet to contact Mulligan about his disregard for their ruling.
“I apologized before I played the song,” Mulligan said. “I said, ‘I apologize for anyone who is bothered with the words ‘Mark’ or ‘Knopfler’ or ‘Sting’ or ‘Money’ or ‘Nothing.’”