Ford government tables plan to enable interprovincial free trade

The Ford government tabled legislation Wednesday to mobilize interprovincial free trade and labour mobility within the country.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods are changing the way governments in our own country respond to trade barriers.

“This is larger than any tariff we have against the U.S. and they have against us,” said Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

Until recently many Canadians may have not known that free trade doesn’t exist within our own country.

“Canadians are quite surprised by the number of barriers there have been when they heard about them,” said Tim Houston, Premier of Nova Scotia. “We can’t accept it anymore, we have to remove them.”

According to the Ontario government, trade barriers within Canada cost the national economy up to $200 billion each year and increase the costs of goods and services for Ontarians by 14.5 per cent.

“My goodness, we have been tariffing each other for decades – generations actually,” said Ford.

The Ford government tabled the Protect Ontario Through Free Trade Within Canada Act Wednesday, which plans to enable free interprovincial trade within the country.

They also hosted the Premiers of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick who have agreed to trade freely with Ontario.

“We are proposing to work with provinces so that goods and services that meet one province’s regulatory standards are automatically recognized as equivalent in another,” said Minister of Economic Development Vic Fedeli.

The plan involves removing restrictions on the movement of goods and includes allowing workers from other parts of Canada to work in Ontario, by simplifying the process for certified professionals.

“This will provide new products for Ontario consumers to enjoy and millions of new customers for Ontario products across Canada,” said Ford.

The plan includes allowing healthcare workers from other provinces to practice in Ontario, while they wait for registration here.

“The premier talked about health and safety standards – Ontario has some of the highest in the country – and what we want to make sure of as New Democrats, is that we raise the bar, protect those standards, not have a race to the bottom,” said Marit Stiles, the leader of the official opposition of Ontario.

The Ford government’s plan would also enable direct-to-consumer alcohol sales with reciprocating provinces and territories so that consumers will be able to purchase alcohol directly from producers across Canada for personal consumption.

“So that we can celebrate in Canada and ‘cheers’ each other with Canadian made products, perhaps instead of American made products,” said Susan Holt, Premier of New Brunswick.

Ford says he hopes all premiers across Canada agree to free interprovincial trade.

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