The regulations that are often criticized as barriers to trade between Canadian provinces could all crumble within a month, according to federal cabinet minister Anita Anand.
Following an announcement at the Port of Halifax on Wednesday, a reporter asked Anand if “interprovincial trade barriers [could] be dealt with, wiped away in 30 days?”
“The short answer to your question is yes,” responded Anand, the minister of transport and internal trade.
Anand suggested her optimism was based on an emergency meeting last week between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the premiers.
“We are making incredible, fast-paced progress with all of the provinces and territories,” she said.
Tariff threat heightened urgency
Anand said the threat of punishing new tariffs being imposed on Canadian imports by the Trump administration has brought a sense of urgency to the issue as never before.
“We are at a pivotal moment in the history of our country and in the future of the Canadian economy,” she said.
“Every minister at the table felt the need, as do I, as does our government, to act collectively, to seize the moment and to do whatever we can to reduce those barriers to trade.
“The momentum is palpable. The moment is here and we are seizing the moment.”
Anand has previously said that removing existing barriers could lower prices by up to 15 per cent, boost productivity by up to seven per cent and add up to $200 billion to the domestic economy.
Decades of efforts
Eliminating interprovincial trade barriers between now and Trump’s 30-day deadline on the pause for new tariffs would be a remarkable accomplishment and the culmination of work that’s been ongoing for decades.
In 1995, the provinces, territories and the federal government formally agreed to remove impediments to trade between jurisdictions.
Those barriers include things like prohibitive restrictions on the sale of alcohol, technical barriers such as vehicle weight standards and regulatory barriers such as licensing and paperwork requirements.
The Agreement on Internal Trade was replaced in 2017 by the Canadian Free Trade Agreement which recommitted the parties to doing more to reduce red tape.
Despite these agreements, and others negotiated between some provinces, there remain rules, regulations and standards that inhibit the free movement of goods and services from one province to another. In fact, the latest work plan for the federal-provincial committee charged with removing barriers lists dozens of items still in negotiations or yet to be signed off.
That includes a Canada-wide standard for “high-visibility safety apparel” and “size and weight restrictions” for transport trucks and food inspections.