Agricultural trade and opportunities will figure prominently in the first major joint trade mission to China and Japan by the three western provinces under a new economic agreement.
The premiers of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan met in Regina April 30 to sign the New West Partnership, an agreement to reduce interprovincial trade barriers and increase ways for the provinces to work together.
That includes co-ordinating innovation investment, raising the international profile of the region and saving money by jointly buying goods such as pharmaceuticals and firefighting equipment.
Read Also
Powdery mildew can be combine fire risk
Dust from powdery mildew can cause fires in combines.
“Our taxpayers will get much better value for every dollar that we take out of their pockets and I think they expect us to do that,” said B.C. premier Gordon Campbell. “We are eliminating unnecessary regulations. We are eliminating duplication of regulations. We are saying to ourselves when we work together we can accomplish so much more.”
The trade mission later this month will also focus on natural resources and clean technology and highlight the advantages of trading with and investing in the region.
The New West includes a population of nine million and a combined GDP of more than $550 billion.
The agreement takes effect July 1, but Saskatchewan has three more years to phase in some of the components such as financial services regulations.
B.C. and Alberta several years ago signed an agreement on trade, investment and labour mobility known as TILMA.
Saskatchewan did not sign that agreement because of concerns about the impact on its crown corporations and the ability of municipalities to offer tax incentives.
Premier Brad Wall said those concerns have been addressed in the New West agreement.
He said procuring goods together could save money for other costs. The provinces spend about $8 billion each year on goods for taxpayers.
“If we could, for example, save 10 percent of that, that’s $800 million that we could use to reduce wait times or pay down debt, you name it,” Wall said.
The agreement could also see the provinces sharing trade offices in other countries.
Among the interprovincial barriers the provinces are already working on are transportation regulations.
Alberta and B.C. built a joint weigh scale and saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in both capital and ongoing operating costs, Campbell said.
Wall noted that weight limits in Alberta and B.C. are the same, but the limit changes once truckers cross the border into Saskatchewan.
“We want to make sure we’re making it as easy as possible to do business right across the West,” he said. “We agreed this morning that we’re actually going to move much more quickly with the transportation part of this.”
Campbell added that there is strong interest from Asia in what the Canadian west has to offer.
Alberta premier Ed Stelmach said reducing public costs and keeping taxes low will attract that investment.
“We’ve just gone through a huge global economic shift,” he said. “There’s going to be a tremendous competition for labour, for investment. And investment will naturally navigate to those areas that have the same regulations (and a) larger base of population. And remember, we have the food, we have the fibre and we have the energy in varying amounts in all three provinces.”
