WINNIPEG — Canada’s trade ministers moved closer to reducing interprovincial trade barriers last week by agreeing to use a tribunal for settling disputes.
Trade ministers emerged from their two-day meeting confident their eight-year-long effort to improve trade conditions within Canada is nearing completion.
“We’re talking solutions now, nobody is talking about problems,” said Quebec minister Gerald Tremblay. “They are coming out with concrete solutions of how we can solve the different problems that we have as a country.”
Tribunal to decide
The proposed tribunal would rule on whether a province’s policies or regulations are discriminatory to potential suppliers of goods and services from another province.
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A means of settling disputes was considered fundamental to the overall agreement due to be completed by June 30.
Art Mauro, the Winnipeg business person who heads the committee negotiating the agreement, told reporters the Canadian domestic market is worth $140 billion annually, compared to its external market of $160 billion.
Freer trade makes for better allocation of resources, he said. “If we don’t have to set up breweries in every town, if you can access the whole of the Canadian market without these barriers, we develop better industries who can compete more effectively.”
But ending the estimated 500 regulations, licensing requirements and procurement policies which add to the cost of doing business in Canada will offer Canadians much more than cheaper consumer goods, Mauro said.
“For me, particularly, the real attraction was an opportunity to strengthen the economic union,” he said. “We didn’t succeed very well strengthening the political union through the constitutional amendments so I think it’s of critical importance that this succeed.”
Manitoba minister Jim Downey said although progress has been made, the provinces must still resolve some sensitive issues before finalizing the agreement.
“There’s further work to be done on regional economic development and how that impacts on the trade agreement,” Downey said.
At issue is how to allow provinces to aid development of their resources without hurting competing sectors in other provinces.
