TRADE SPAT IS NO JOKE
Who knew Brad Wall possessed such a wicked sense of humour? The conservative-minded Saskatchewan premier celebrated the end days of his political career by mischievously pranking the left-leaning province next door with the interprovincial-trade equivalent of a practical joke.
That this far-fetched explanation appears as plausible as any other says all anyone needs to know about the licence-plate war that will go down as one of Wall’s final exploits as premier.
To recap, Wall’s government declared in December that Alberta-plated vehicles would be banned on government work sites.
Saskatchewan claimed it was a tit-for-tat measure in response to similar restrictions faced by its workers in Alberta but never produced evidence. Then, one of Wall’s ministers announced the ban was to help level the playing field because Alberta has no tax on construction material. Later, Wall said he was retaliating against a disturbing pattern of protectionist behaviour, in particular, Alberta’s decision to increase taxes on out-of-province beer.
The trade war ended as suddenly as it started, in an equally head-scratching manner; Saskatchewan Trade Minister Steven Bonk declared victory Monday, saying the ban was reversed as a good-faith move ahead of an upcoming decision on Alberta’s beer prices by a trade panel ruling. He pointed to comments by Deron Bilous, his Alberta counterpart, that Alberta would make changes to its beer program if the panel ruled against the province.
Why was there no mention of beer when the licence plate ban was declared more than a month ago? And when did the Alberta government ever say it wouldn’t abide by the ruling?
It’s revealing that the truce came just hours before an independent panel was to review the dispute, putting Saskatchewan at risk of $5 million in penalties if found in violation of the New West Partnership Trade Agreement.
Whatever Saskatchewan’s overarching motive, the effect is to remind all signatory provinces that, despite the deal, trade irritants remain between them.
Wall inadvertently showed the wrong way to pursue a complaint about trade practices and that bypassing established dispute-resolution mechanisms in favour of retaliation tends to make governments look silly. It’s a lesson Wall should have learned just a few months ago after he sent letters to Calgary oil companies offering incentives to relocate to Saskatchewan. Alberta complained that the poaching attempt violated free-trade rules and Saskatchewan backtracked.
Hopefully, the new Saskatchewan premier is a quicker study.