Strengthening Trade Within Canada

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - June 9, 2015) - Industry Canada

Today Industry Minister James Moore met with his provincial and territorial counterparts in Toronto to discuss negotiations and progress on modernizing Canada's internal trade framework. The meeting sends a strong signal about the importance of the issues being negotiated and the need to accelerate the work toward a new agreement. All ministers agreed to complete renegotiations by March 2016.

Minister Moore welcomed the progress that has been made, particularly on the federal priority areas of regulatory reform, procurement and expanding the scope of the agreement as outlined in the strategy released by the Minister in August 2014, called One Canada, One National Economy: Modernizing Internal Trade in Canada. The Minister reiterated his commitment to working with the provinces and territories to reach an ambitious agreement as quickly as possible.

During the meeting, Minister Moore provided an update on the work being undertaken by the federal government, including the creation of the Internal Trade Promotion Office to act as a hub for research and analysis on trade within Canada, and the development of the Internal Trade Barriers Index to provide more reliable information on the state of internal trade in Canada.

Minister Moore noted that engaging business is critical to shaping a new agreement and welcomed the participation of Canadian business leaders at the meeting.

Quick facts

• Nearly 40 percent of Canada's trade occurs within its borders.
• When the Agreement on Internal Trade came into effect nearly 20 years ago, Canada had trade agreements with just two countries. Today, it has agreements in force or being finalized with 43 countries, giving Canadian businesses preferential access to over 1.1 billion consumers worldwide.
• One Canada, One National Economy: Modernizing Internal Trade in Canada is the federal government's proposed approach to creating a modern internal trade framework for federal, provincial and territorial partners.
• Economic Action Plan 2015 announced the establishment of the Internal Trade Promotion Office to serve as the central hub for internal trade analysis and coordination. The Office will engage with provinces and territories, businesses, workers, consumers and academia to explore opportunities to address internal trade barriers.
• The Internal Trade Barriers Index, first announced in Economic Action Plan 2014, will increase knowledge of the barriers to domestic trade and help governments identify priority areas for action.

Quote

"Barriers to internal trade cripple Canada's economy and hurt the bottom line of hard-working Canadian families. That's why today there is a strong consensus across the country that the current Agreement on Internal Trade does not respond to the realities of a modern, globally integrated economy like Canada's. I look forward to working with my provincial and territorial counterparts to continue on a path toward a renewed Agreement on Internal Trade."

- James Moore, Minister of Industry

Associated links

- Joint Statement by Ministers Responsible for Internal Trade

- Agreement on Internal Trade - Industry Canada

- Transforming Trade: Reforming our economic union to remove barriers to internal trade

Follow @industrycanada on Twitter and use #internaltrade to let us know how internal trade is affecting your business.