There’s no place for trade barriers between provinces in Canada

In the Great Alberta-Saskatchewan War of 2017, it should be fairly straightforward for Albertans to line up on the side of Team Alberta. But once the shooting stops and an armistice is imposed, perhaps we can set our sights on waging the great war on provincial protectionism.

If we’re lucky, though, protectionist policies may be among the casualties in this round of fighting.

As to how we got here, it remains unclear. Saskatchewan’s abrupt ban on Alberta licence plates on government job sites seemed to come out of nowhere.

The Saskatchewan government suggested that it was in retaliation to similar bans in place here in Alberta, but nobody can seem to find any such examples. Then they suggested that it was to level the playing field, since certain costs are lower for companies in Alberta. Then they suggested it had something to do with Alberta’s protectionist beer policies.

A clear rationale for the move is still as elusive as ever.

It was certainly a nice parting gift from outgoing Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall to his nemesis Premier Rachel Notley. At a time when the Alberta NDP are desperately trying to portray themselves as a force for political moderation, it provided a welcome opportunity for them to stand up for Alberta companies and for the idea of open competition.

I suppose for some Alberta conservatives, it feels awkward to side with Notley over Wall, but this would be no different if it were the NDP in power in Saskatchewan and the UCP in power here. The principle is the principle, and we should be able to put partisanship aside and stand against Saskatchewan’s absurd attack on Alberta companies.

What’s worse, of course, is that Alberta and Saskatchewan are signatories to the New West Partnership, which ought to serve as a model for opening up trade among the provinces. Hopefully, that agreement will provide an avenue for Alberta to bring about an end to this situation and provide compensation to those unduly affected, but it’s an embarrassment that it would happen in the first place.

Even the Alberta government, in one of the early iterations of its beer policies, paid heed to the New West Partnership and bestowed favourable markup rates on small brewers in Saskatchewan and B.C.

A subsequent iteration of that policy, of course, has turned into a point of contention between Alberta and Saskatchewan — or, more specifically, Saskatchewanbased Great Western Brewing. They contend that the higher markup rate on small brewers, combined with a grant program for Alberta-based producers, is tantamount to a tariff on outof-province beer. And they may have a legitimate point.

In fact, Alberta has already lost one panel ruling, which found that the policy was in violation of the Agreement on Internal Trade. The Alberta government is appealing that decision, and that has clearly sparked some anger in Saskatchewan.

However, when it comes to protectionist beer policies, Saskatchewan is no angel, either. There are few Alberta beers to be found on Saskatchewan shelves, and Alberta brewers have spoken about how their applications to enter the Saskatchewan market have been arbitrarily turned down by that province’s liquor and gaming commission. Whatever flaws may exist in the Alberta government’s current approach, it’s still easier for a Saskatchewan brewer to crack our market than vice versa.

So how about this: both provinces ease up on protectionist beer policies? But first, how about Saskatchewan repeal its preposterous and unjustified ban on Alberta licence plates?

Let’s show that the New West Partnership is an actual functioning trade agreement, and how a similar approach can and should be applied right across the country. Fortunately, we’re moving in that direction, with the recently signed Canada Free Trade Agreement and a potentially huge ruling from the Supreme Court of Canada in a case involving interprovincial liquor restrictions.

In the meantime, though, we can call a spade a spade: Saskatchewan is in the wrong.