Industry Minister James Moore Discusses Strengthening Canada's National Economy

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Sept. 15, 2014) - Industry Canada

Industry Minister James Moore today delivered an address at the University of Calgary School of Public Policy's conference in Ottawa, emphasizing that Canada's internal trade barriers harm the national economy, hurt Canadian businesses, workers and consumers, and add costs for businesses that affect competitiveness.

The Minister called for an unimpeded internal market that enables businesses to grow and encourages entrepreneurs to launch into other markets while creating jobs for Canadians.

Minister Moore also provided details on the federal government's proposal to modernize the Agreement on Internal Trade, One Canada, One National Economy: Modernizing Internal Trade in Canada, and committed to working with the provinces and territories to achieve meaningful action. The Minister said that the federal government will take action on its own, where possible, to both lead by example and emphasize that Canadians expect their governments to address this important issue.

Quick facts

• Nearly 40 percent of Canada's trade occurs within its borders.
• A request for proposals to create a new Internal Trade Barriers Index was launched on September 5, 2014. As outlined in Economic Action Plan 2014, the index will increase knowledge of the barriers to domestic trade and help governments identify priority areas for action.
• When the Agreement on Internal Trade came into effect nearly 20 years ago, Canada had concluded trade agreements with only two countries. Today, we have agreements in force or being finalized with 43 countries, giving Canadian businesses preferential access to over 1.1 billion consumers worldwide.
• Canada's two most recent trade agreements, the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement, promise to add at least $14 billion annually in new economic activity, equivalent to creating more than 90,000 new jobs.
• One Canada, One National Economy: Modernizing Internal Trade in Canada outlines two potential paths for federal, provincial and territorial partners to advance a modern internal trade framework: targeted reform that addresses priority areas of concern or a complete redesign of the Agreement on Internal Trade to bring it in line with recent international trade agreements.

Quotes

"There is a strong consensus across the country that we must reduce the costs of doing business and help provincial and territorial economies grow. The time for action is now. Our government is committed to working with the provinces and territories to make the changes necessary to ensure trade within Canada is as open and efficient as trade with other countries."

- James Moore, Minister of Industry

"The School of Public Policy is committed to driving policy that promotes freer and more diversified trade. It goes without saying that Canada needs to broaden trade beyond its traditional trading partners. To succeed, we need to deeply understand the policy and economic environments of new and potential trading partners globally. Today's Trade Experts Symposium is intended to do just that."

- Jack Mintz, Director, School of Public Policy, University of Calgary

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