Cross-border licence-plate spat goes to dispute panel
Minister begins dispute resolution process with Saskatchewan over plate ban
An independent panel is set to examine the SaskatchewanAlberta licence plate controversy.
Saskatchewan ignored Alberta Trade Minister Deron Bilous’ midnight Wednesday deadline to roll back a policy announced last week that bans Alberta-plated vehicles from government work sites.
Thursday morning, as promised, Bilous informed the New West Partnership’s trade secretariat, kicking off a dispute resolution process.
If Saskatchewan loses — and Bilous is confident it will — that province could be on the hook for up to $5 million.
Bilous said any funds Alberta wins will go to companies affected by the licence plate ban. He encouraged those affected to email the government at nwpta@ gov.ab.ca, which will guide them through making individual complaints to be filed alongside the trade action.
From politicians to Lloydminster contractors, no one is sure why Saskatchewan changed the rules in the first place.
Alberta Transportation Minister Brian Mason said Thursday his Saskatchewan counterparts grumbled earlier this week about everything from Alberta’s lack of a provincial sales tax to our lower gravel prices, but never provided any evidence of companies being wronged in this province.
Just before Bilous and Mason spoke with reporters, Saskatchewan Economy Minister Steven Bonk said his government is concerned about what he sees as a “disturbing pattern of protectionist measures.”
That includes the so-called “beer wars,” in which Saskatchewan took Alberta to court over this province’s mark-up on beer.
Bonk also doubled down on his government’s claims Saskatchewan vehicles are unwelcome on Alberta sites — something Mason and Bilous say they’ve looked into repeatedly and is not true.
To Mason, the whole issue seems “fabricated.”
The kerfuffle is particularly vexing in the Alberta-Saskatchewan border town of Lloydminster.
Cody Bexson, president of the Lloydminster Construction Association, said his industry is grappling with the potential economic impact of being forced to have all their vehicles inspected, insured and plated on both sides of the border.
“We pick up our coffee on the Saskatchewan side and go to work on the Alberta side,” he said. “It would have complications … no doubt about it.”
He said while there’s no animosity between workers from either side of the border, “everyone’s just a little baffled.”
Mason said Alberta was left with no option but to open a trade dispute with Saskatchewan under the New West Partnership.
“The insistence by the government of Saskatchewan to penalize Alberta contractors isn’t just antitrade, it’s also discriminatory and it’s wrong,” he said.
Bilous said there’s still a chance for Saskatchewan to avoid potential penalties — by killing the “petty and ridiculous” rule.
“If they refuse to back down, they will be the first example in the history of the New West Partnership that a province has received monetary penalties,” he said.
He has also invited Saskatchewan officials to a January meeting in Lloydminster, a neutral zone for both provinces. Saskatchewan wanted Alberta to hold off on the trade injunction until then, but Bilous said that wasn’t going to fly.