Discussions are continuing towards a renewed domestic trade agreement in Canada. Minister Heath MacDonald, Economic Development and Tourism met with his Federal-Provincial-Territorial counterparts last month to discuss the status of negotiations towards a renewed Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT), and to provide direction on some key remaining issues.
Minister MacDonald came away from the meeting feeling encouraged by the progress being made at the negotiating table, but cited that there is still more to be done to ensure a solid outcome is achieved.
“With more than 50% of Prince Edward Island’s exports destined for other Canadian cities, it is critical that we tackle any remaining irritants facing Island businesses today,” said Minister MacDonald. “I am looking at this through the lens of our business community, and a renewed agreement needs to focus on what Government can do and change to further assist our companies to compete and succeed in the Canadian marketplace. We need to ensure an outcome which places Island businesses on a level playing field with their counterparts across the country.”
The business community in Prince Edward Island has long been asking to reduce and eliminate regulatory burdens that make it difficult to do business across the country. Island businesses have identified that differing regulations across the country in areas such as transportation and construction services lead to increased costs for shipping their products, or make it difficult to do business in other jurisdictions within Canada.
“In addition to the on-going work my department is doing on red-tape reduction and regulatory reform, both on PEI and in the Maritime and Atlantic regions, I believe we have found an outcome which will help deal with regulatory issues facing businesses at the national level as well,” said Minister MacDonald.
Government will be asking Island businesses to identify their most pressing issues they are facing from a regulatory perspective. The issues identified will inform the list of priorities which Government puts forward to be resolved as part of the regulatory reconciliation process agreed upon in the renewed trade agreement. Further meetings amongst ministers are being planned in the coming weeks as they continue their work towards an announcement of a renewed agreement in the near future.
“It is time to put the current AIT in the rear-view mirror. We need to look forward and find ways to liberalize trade beyond the existing agreement to improve the business environment across the country. After all, this should be about how governments can help businesses further compete and succeed in the Canadian marketplace,” said Minister MacDonald.