Ontario helping lead Canada in dissolving international trade barriers, report says

A report has indicated that Ontario is leading the charge in the reduction of trade barriers within Canada.

According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), more progress has been made in the last six months on dissolving international trade barriers within Canada than in the last eight years since the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) was signed.

“We’re marching the ball downfield, but we haven’t reached the end zone just yet,” said CFIB vice-president of legislative affairs Ryan Mallough in an official statement.

As a result of the report, several Canadian provinces were noted for their significance in dissolving barriers to export and import.

According to the CFIB, Nova Scotia is currently leading Canada in mutual recognition legislation, a process that allows specific goods and services to be exported elsewhere without certain restraints around approval.

Ontario, as dictated by the report, is sitting in second place.

However, other provinces are not following the same pattern, with Mallough further stating, “While progress to date has been encouraging, we also have seven different jurisdictions taking seven different approaches to mutual recognition. That kind of patchwork can wind up recreating the barriers it was meant to knock down.”

As a result, the CFIB released a grading chart on which provinces are doing the most in their eyes to loosen structures around international trade, which is as follows:

1. Nova Scotia
2. Ontario
3. Manitoba
4. B.C.
5. Alberta
6. P.E.I.
7. Saskatchewan
8. Newbrunswick
9. Quebec
10. Newfoundland and Labrador
11. Northwest Territories
12. Nunavut
13. Yukon

While not perfect across all provinces and territories, internal representatives within the CFIB still praise the progress that has been made.

“Just in the past six months, we’ve seen seven jurisdictions with mutual recognition legislation on the books,” said SeoRhin Yoo, CFIB’s senior policy analyst for interprovincial affairs, in an official statement.

For more information on the CFIB’s report, visit their official website.

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