Whoever expects to be deleted, however, may be disappointed.
Throughout the federal election campaign for this spring, Liberal leader Mark Carney has repeatedly promised to eliminate barriers to interprorvincial trade and to establish “free trade by Canada’s Day”.
The Carney government has now adopted the planned changes, but it is more at the start than the end of the process.
“It is a start that kicks off many more activities and work, which is really exciting,” said Ryan Manucha, expert in internal trade. If all this was easy, it would have already been done. ”
Mr. Manucha writes on the subject for the reflection group of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and is the author of the book “Booze, Cigarettes, and Constitutional Dust-Ups: Canada’s Quest for Interprevincial Trade”.
“When I advise governments, I say:” Do not consider it as a simple switch, “he said. We change the way everyone addresses the concepts of regulation and risk, so it will take time. ”
The eagerness to eliminate interior trade barriers follows the price war by US President Donald Trump with Canada. A study estimates that existing interior obstacles cost the economy some $ 200 billion per year.
Manucha explained that Canada has been talking about this problem for decades, but that it only attacks it seriously now – and that “would never have happened without Trump”.
He argued that the filing of the Bill of the Carney Government on internal trade was “incredible to see”, because the idea was only “academic theory barely eight months ago”.
Bill C-5, which aims to reduce federal restrictions on interprorvincial trade and also accelerate license for major infrastructure projects, entered into force on June 26.
Doubts persist
An analysis of the law by the McMillan Vantage group believes that “this law would not succeed” to eliminate all barriers to domestic trade.
When Mr. Carney made his electoral promise, he spoke of reducing the administrative formalities imposed by the federal government, and not the rules established by the provinces, which have the most authority in the matter.
The Prime Minister described this effort as a kind of agreement giving-back with the provinces.
“We get rid of a series of redundant federal regulations. We are going to adopt the principle of a project, an examination, and, in exchange, they will accept to eliminate all obstacles to trade and mobility of the workforce, “explained Mr. Carney during a rally in Kitchener, Ontario, March 26.
“The federal government is committed to eliminating all our obstacles by Canada’s Day. [Il a promis] Free trade by Canada’s Day. ”
But barriers to Canada’s domestic trade will not all be eliminated by then, not even all federal barriers.
The Canadian supply management system for dairy products, which sets provincial production quotas, will remain in place for example. Quebec also retains linguistic requirements that will remain in force.
Credit cooperatives complain that the new law does not remove the obstacles to their expansion in several provinces.
Bill C-5 aligns federal requirements relating to provincial requirements and services if they cross provincial or territorial borders. It allows a provincial requirement to replace a federal requirement if the rules are “comparable”.
Ottawa likes to highlight energy efficiency standards. A washer made in British Columbia which meets the provincial standard must nevertheless meet additional federal standards before being able to be sold in Alberta or Ontario. The new law means that the British Columbia standard would replace the federal standard.
The law also eliminates redundant permit requirements for workers. Federal regulation organizations would be required to recognize provincial professional certifications.
Complex
It is difficult to determine exactly how many federal obstacles The bill eliminates. Many details will only be known once the regulations have been written.
“I don’t really know what this law could do in the end, because important veto power and great discretion remain in the hands of the regulatory authorities,” said Manucha. According to the text of this law, it seems that the inspection of the meats is deleted. Will the Canadian Food Inspection Agency really allow interprorvincial trade and the inspection of meat from slaughterhouses not approved by the federal government? I don’t know. “
There is no exhaustive list of existing interior trade obstacles. Some pressure groups have even told parliamentarians that they were unaware of the number of obstacles to which their own industries are faced.
There is not even consensus on what constitutes an obstacle to trade.
“Ontario provincial legislation provides, for many professions, a 30 -day service standard for the recognition of skills securities,” explains Mr. Manucha. Nova Scotia, on the other hand, adopted a period of 10 days. It’s less than a third. Can we qualify a period of 30 days rather than 10 days of obstacle to trade? ”
The Minister of Internal Trade, Chrystia Freeland, who has repeatedly said that most of the obstacles are at the provincial level, said in the Senate that she would meet her provincial counterparts on July 8 to discuss the next steps.
One of the main obstacles in Ms. Freeland’s sighting line is the mosaic of Canadian regulations in interprovincial truck.
“It should be much easier than driving a Halifax truck in Vancouver. We have to get rid of contradictory requirements, “she said on June 16.
Mis. Freeland also announced that Ottawa would remove all the federal exceptions of the 2017 Canadian Free Trade Agreement, which governs the Interprorvincial Trade, by removing 53 rules which mainly deal with supply practices.
Provincial and territorial governments conduct their own examinations in order to remove the exceptions of the agreement which fall under their respective skills.
