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An agreement between all Canadian provinces, territories, and the federal government signed today will drop interprovincial trade barriers on many goods except food and alcohol starting in December. It comes as part of an effort to support businesses with more trade opportunities in light of U.S. tariffs.<\/p>\n
B.C. Minister of Jobs and Economic Growth Ravi Kahlon said the agreement, signed in Yellowknife on Wednesday, is the outcome of a nationwide push led by B.C. to reduce domestic trade barriers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis agreement makes it easier for goods that meet the rules in one province or territory to be sold across Canada without extra approvals, labels, or testing,\u201d he said at an announcement in Victoria.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are creating one agreement, one market, and unlimited opportunity across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
When it goes into effect, the agreement will cover thousands of products, including clothing, toys, vehicles, health technology, and industrial products.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kahlon hopes to expand this to include food, alcohol, and other things initially exempt from the agreement like financial services \u2013 but said they are regulated differently, and it will take time to sort out.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe business community has long called for a simple principle: if a product is approved for sale in one province, it should be approved in all provinces,\u201d said Bridgitte Anderson, president and CEO of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile today is worth celebrating, it is important to encourage the momentum towards further integration and opportunity domestically, especially as we look towards food and alcohol, as well as improving labour mobility.\u201d<\/p>\n
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B.C. Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon stands with Greater Vancouver Board of Trade president and CEO Bridgitte Anderson and MLA Paul Choi at an announcement of an agreement to reduce interprovincial trade barriers. (Emily Fagan\/CBC)<\/p>\n
James Donaldson, CEO of the B.C. Food and Beverage Association, said provinces have different safety standards around food, particularly meats, so he wasn\u2019t surprised that it may take longer to lower trade barriers on it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it’s progress, because we’ve been talking about this for some time, so it’s nice to see them actually taking some action,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe … a side benefit of some of the tariff threats that Canada’s faced is that it’s kind of forcing the provinces to work together in a more constructive way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Donaldson wants the country to determine a unified set of food safety standards to make it easier to lower trade barriers. <\/p>\n
He also hopes alcohol will soon be included in expanded interprovincial trade opportunities. B.C. has signed a memorandum of understanding to support direct-to-consumer alcohol sales with other provinces.<\/p>\n
However, Marc Lee, senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, says the agreement amounts to \u201cpolitical theatre,\u201d aimed at addressing barriers that have little impact on sectors beyond food and alcohol.<\/p>\n