Business coalition urges premiers to open trade within Canada as prelude to Canada-Europe negotiations
July 30, 2009
OTTAWA - Premiers have a unique opportunity to improve Canada’s negotiating position in free trade talks with the European Union by honouring their commitment to remove barriers to interprovincial trade and labour mobility, a coalition of national business associations said today.
Speaking in advance of next week’s planned meeting of the Council of the Federation in Regina, the business groups urged Canada’s premiers and territorial leaders to accelerate efforts to eliminate internal trade restrictions and put in place an effective dispute settlement mechanism – the two essential elements of a strong economic union.
The provinces and territories will play a key role in the success of the current Canada-EU negotiations since they would be responsible for implementing any treaty obligations that fell within their jurisdiction, including in areas such as the environment, food and agriculture, and government procurement.
Last fall, the Council of the Federation issued a statement promising to collaborate fully with the federal government in hopes of achieving a “comprehensive and ambitious transatlantic accord” that would open new markets for Canadian businesses and create new opportunities for Canadian workers.
Business groups welcome the support of the provinces for the Canada-EU negotiations. But they also point out that Canada has yet to implement a strong and effective free trade agreement within its own borders. In effect, the coalition says, the provinces need to clean up their own backyard first to ensure that Canada is not stymied in its efforts to secure the greatest possible access to European markets.
Last year, the premiers pledged to amend the 1995 Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) to achieve full labour mobility for Canadians by January 1, 2009. However, the new labour mobility rules have yet to take effect – two jurisdictions still have not signed – and several of the provinces are now seeking exemptions from those provisions. The business coalition urges swift action to fully implement the labour mobility agreement as soon as possible.
In the area of dispute resolution, too, there is much unfinished business. Fourteen years after the AIT went into effect, consumers and businesses – the two groups that are most affected by interprovincial trade barriers – still have no access to an enforceable dispute resolution mechanism.
In April 2008, the business coalition proposed four key steps that, taken together, would eliminate barriers to trade and labour mobility that weaken the domestic economy:
- Federal legislation to establish a set of “open trade principles” designed to ensure a free and open market, without discriminatory practices;
- The creation of a standing internal trade tribunal that would be accessible to all Canadians as a means of resolving internal trade disputes;
- Implementation of all outstanding rulings by panels established under the AIT; and,
- An agreement that all tribunal orders and existing panel decisions would be subject to enforcement by the courts at the option of the disputants.
Coalition members include: the Canadian Bankers Association, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute, the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada, and the Dairy Processors Association of Canada.
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For further information, please contact:
Carole Presseault, Vice President
Government and Regulatory Affairs
CGA-Canada
Cell: 613 796-0422
cpresseault@cga-canada.org
Ross Laver, Vice President
Policy and Communications
Canadian Council of Chief Executives
Office: 613 238-3727
ross@ceocouncil.ca
Copies of the coalition’s discussion paper, Improving Internal Trade: A Bold Approach, are available online at http://www.cga-canada.org/en-ca/ResearchAndAdvocacy/AreasofInterest/InternalTrade/Pages/InternalTrade.aspx
