Ministers LeBlanc and Anand announce trucking pilot to improve movement of goods

CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI, Sept. 26, 2024 /CNW/ - Today, at the Committee on Internal Trade (CIT) meeting, the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs, and the Honourable Anita Anand, President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Transport, announced the launch of a pilot project to mutually recognize regulatory requirements in the trucking sector.

The ministers thanked the coalition of willing jurisdictions: Ontario; Nova Scotia; Manitoba; Prince Edward Island; Saskatchewan; Alberta; Newfoundland and Labrador; Northwest Territories; Yukon; and Nunavut for joining this effort to improve the efficient movement of goods — a crucial aspect to Canada's productivity and affordability. The pilot project will be co-chaired by Newfoundland and Labrador and Canada.

Mutual recognition agreements in key sectors, such as transportation and trucking, have the potential to boost Canada's productivity and economic growth. Experts forecast that adopting mutual recognition as a means to reduce barriers to internal trade could increase Canada's economy by $200 billion per year.

Under this new trucking pilot, participating provinces and territories will commit to recognizing each other's regulatory requirements, even where differences exist, such as oversized vehicle signage requirements, to allow trucks and the goods they carry to move across Canada more effectively, without compromising safety and security measures. The pilot, the first of its kind on this scale within Canada, will help governments test and measure what can be achieved through mutual recognition and will help drive future work in other important sectors of the economy, including labour mobility.

Today's announcement is an important first step towards wider, national adoption of mutual recognition and builds on the Government of Canada's demonstrated leadership and action to liberalize trade and boost Canada's economic productivity.

Through federal leadership, including the Federal Action Plan to Strengthen Internal Trade, the Government of Canada has:

• Launched the Canadian Internal Trade Data and Information Hub, providing open and accessible information on domestic trade and trade barriers in key economic sectors;
• Removed and narrowed 1/3 of federal exceptions in the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, providing Canadian businesses with more opportunities to be competitive across the country;
• Strengthened regulatory cooperation through the harmonization of building codes and energy efficiency regulations and exempting oil rigs from duplicative requirements; 
• Funded the development of a National Registry of Physicians, led by the Medical Council of Canada, a foundational element that will support labour mobility for physicians;
• Reviewed the Red Tape Reduction Act and made it a requirement for the one–for–one rule to control the administrative burden on business and to take into account burden reduced as a result of regulatory cooperation between the Government of Canada and other jurisdictions;
• Advanced regulatory cooperation through the Canada-U.S. Regulatory Cooperation Council and the Federal-Provincial/Territorial Regulatory Reconciliation and Cooperation Table to reduce regulatory barriers to trade and make it easier for businesses to operate across multiple jurisdictions; and
• Held regional roundtables in Canada and the United States to better understand the regulatory challenges businesses face when conducting business across internal and international borders.

Additionally, as announced in August 2024, the Treasury Board of Canada is setting up a working group to examine productivity in Canada's public sector and inform the government's economic plan. The working group will be comprised of various experts from academia, think tanks, private and public sectors, and will engage with unions. It will examine the delivery of services to Canadians and the role of technology in helping address barriers to achieving greater efficiencies for Canadians and businesses. The working group's mandate and terms of reference will be finalized and made public in the coming weeks.

Quotes

"Today, we collectively took a critical step towards liberalizing trade across our country and strengthening internal trade. What we learn from this pilot will also lay the foundation for broader use of mutual recognition across sectors and jurisdictions, to ultimately make it easier to do business across Canada."  

—The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs

"Everyone benefits when we reduce economic friction, promote cooperation, and maximize opportunities in Canadian industries.  By working together with our provincial and territorial colleagues, we can help improve productivity and create conditions for increased trade across the country. Today, our provincial and territorial colleagues are taking an important step in mutual recognition of regulatory requirements to enable trucks and their goods to move across Canada more efficiently and effectively. This pilot project is a perfect example of the results we can achieve by working together for the good of our economy, our businesses and all Canadians."

—The Honourable Anita Anand, President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Transport

Quick Facts

• The Committee on Internal Trade consists of all federal, provincial, and territorial ministers responsible for internal trade, and is responsible for supervising the implementation of the CFTA, including providing oversight over a number of CFTA working groups; assisting in the resolution of disputes; approving the annual operating budget of the Internal Trade Secretariat (ITS); and considering any other matter that may affect the operation of the CFTA.
• Over $500 billion worth of goods and services moves across provincial and territorial borders—equal to almost 19% of Canada's gross domestic product. Last year, one-third of Canadian businesses participated in internal trade by buying or selling goods across provincial and territorial borders.

Associated Links

• Internal Trade
• Federal Action Plan to Strengthen Internal Trade
• Canadian Internal Trade Data and Information Hub
• Internal Trade Results for Canadians 
• Ministers meet to drive progress on internal trade

Stay Connected
https://www.canada.ca/en/intergovernmental-affairs.html

SOURCE Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs

For more information (media only), please contact: Gabriel Brunet, Press Secretary, Office of the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs, 819-665-6527, [email protected]; Myah Tomasi, Press Secretary, Office of the President of the Treasury Board of Canada, [email protected], 343-543-7210; Media Relations, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Telephone: [phone], Toll-free: 1-855-TBS-9-SCT (1-855-827-9728), Email: [email protected]; Media Relations, Privy Council Office, 613-957-5420, [email protected]