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Vancouver
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Federal, Provincial. Territorial Trade Ministers Meet

Federal, provincial and territorial trade ministers meet in Toronto to talk about making it easier to move goods, services and labour across Canada.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses is urging the ministers to come up with a new deal that removes barriers between provinces.

The small-business lobby wants a comprehensive, national agreement to eliminate what it calls “artificial barriers” that prevent the movement of goods, services and labour within Canada.

Canada is opening its arms to more international trade under a free trade agreement with the European Union, which the CFIB says makes it more important than ever to quickly remove internal barriers between provinces.

It wants changes so when a product or service complies with rules in one province, it will be acceptable to all provinces, and an assumption that cross-border trade between provinces is permitted unless stated otherwise.

The CFIB also wants to see a faster and more direct approach to solving disputes about interprovincial trade.