Big Guy Posted May 30, 2014 Report Posted May 30, 2014 Federal Industry Minister James Moore has announced that the Conservative government is in the process of negotiating a comprehensive new agreement on internal trade with the provinces. It is estimated that the lowering of these barriers will save us $50-billion a year. We are currently trading under the Agreement on Internal Trade, which was signed by the provinces 20 years ago and left intact a patchwork of cumbersome barriers. http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/05/29/harper-government-aims-for-deal-to-end-provincial-trade-barriers-which-cost-canadian-economy-50b-annually/ Opponents claim that barriers are needed to maintain provincial control of jobs while proponents suggest that free trade between provinces will encourage trade across provinces and netween Canada and other nations. I live in a 70,000 municipality in Ontario. There is a continuing difference of opinion on the process of advertising for municipal projects. One side wants to restrict bidding to those who live and work in the community to keep the money in the area and provide work for locals. Others want to offer the jobs to all and looking for the best quote or offer and argue that if one area has those restrictions then others will do the same and shut our locals out of out of municipality jobs. I assume that the same philosophies apply on the provincial level. Is creating a “free trade” environment between provinces a good idea or a bad idea? Quote Note - For those expecting a response from Big Guy: I generally do not read or respond to posts longer then 300 words nor to parsed comments.
overthere Posted May 30, 2014 Report Posted May 30, 2014 I predict Quebec will riot over any loss of protection, however small, to the trade barriers they have meticulously constructed to protect their economy, such as it is. Quote Science too hard for you? Try religion!
The_Squid Posted June 2, 2014 Report Posted June 2, 2014 I spoke to the owner of a brewery in Ontario who is finding it easier to get into the USA market than to sell into Quebec. They are trying to raise funds to build a new brewery in Quebec so they can sell there. What an inefficient waste of resources. Spend millions building a 2nd brewery when the 1st is right across the border. Trade barriers between provinces are not good for the economy and hurt consumers. Quote
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