Trade ministers to discuss inter-provincial red tape
Mike Ouellette
The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses is urging the ministers to remove trade barriers between provinces
TORONTO—Federal, provincial and territorial trade ministers meet in Toronto today to talk about making it easier to move goods, services and labour across Canada.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB) is urging the ministers to come up with a new deal that removes trade barriers between provinces.
The small-business lobby wants a comprehensive, national trade agreement to eliminate what it calls “artificial barriers” that prevent the movement of goods, services and labour within Canada.
Canada is opening its arms to more international trade under a free trade agreement with the European Union, which the CFIB says makes it more important than ever to quickly remove internal trade barriers between provinces.
It wants changes so when a product or service complies with rules in one province, it will be acceptable to all provinces, and an assumption that cross-border trade between provinces is permitted unless stated otherwise.
The CFIB also wants to see a faster and more direct approach to solving disputes about interprovincial trade.
