Provincial barriers complicate matters
PROVINCIAL BARRIERS ADD LEVEL OF COMPLEXITY
When Canada’s trade ministers revealed a mass internal free trade agreement recently, the list of exemptions and items to be discussed was as long as the barriers they removed.
Bull frogs, wild rice, weddings and funerals were among the integral provincial industries specifically outlined for protection.
“When you look at the exclusions, and you match them up to the size of the pie dedicated to provincial revenues in those categories: the exclusions have to do with protecting provincial revenues,” said Arnold Schwisberg, a constitutional lawyer who worked on a recent case where a New
ONTARIO IS BULLISH ON FROGS’ LEGS
The agreement includes a requirement that only residents of the province “may be issued a licence for taking of bullfrogs for sale or barter.” So all those people from Manitoba rushing over the border to stock up on frogs’ legs better watch out.
FOR WEDDINGS AND FUNERALS
In Ontario, you must be a resident to become a marriage officiant — so guess you can’t have that cousin from the west conduct your ceremony. In Quebec, all funeral directors must live in the province. And, you have to be a resident of Newfoundland and Labrador to serve as a notary public.
QUEBEC STUDS
Do you have a Standardbred stallion you are just dying to breed in Quebec? Well, pack your bags and then wait 183 days for sufficient residency status, because 182 days clearly means you’re a foreign interest from P.E.I or wherever. Brunswick man challenged his arrest for driving over the border with booze. Schwisberg said the internal trade agreement explicitly excluded big provincial cash cows, like booze and gambling and even user fees like hunting, because the provinces rely on those revenues.
As we celebrate Canada’s 150th year, it’s worth keeping in mind that the fathers of Confederation intended for the nation to be an economic union, and many of these barriers have crept up over time. Here are some of the weirder, head-scratching rules the provinces felt compelled to protect while inching toward a freer trade, within our national borders:
PASSING THE JOINT
The agreement mentions the looming legalization of marijuana but passes the dutchie until such time as federalization has actually allowed for non-medical cannabis sales. The agreement says provinces will meet to discuss the budding weed trade once that happens, so maybe, just maybe, you’ll be able to direct order B.C. bud in Ontario before you can buy a case of wine directly from a vineyard.
WILD RICE RULES
Apparently people still pick wild rice by hand. But if you’re doing it on Crown Land in Ontario you better be a resident. In Manitoba, if you want to export it, make sure you live there for at least a year.
LES BOMBES
If you’ve ever wanted to set up a fireworks store in Quebec, make sure you’re in line with that province’s rules, since La Belle Province has felt the need to explicitly protect “conditions for use, sale, transport, delivery, preservation and destruction of explosives.”
SASKATCHEWAN FISHERIES
The landlocked province of Saskatchewan wants to protect its fisheries. If you want to dig into the freshwater offerings, you have to live there to get a commercial fisheries licence.
LIVESTOCK MEDICINES
Don’t start giving your neighbour’s cows medicine in Ontario unless you both live there and have an established business. But if you truck in for the Royal Winter Fair or similar event, you can get permission for “a temporary place of business at events such as races and agricultural fairs or shows.”
CHEESY WHINING
The agreement ensures provincial marketing boards for products like cheese, eggs and turkey meat stay in place. That means some of the more interesting raw-milk Quebec cheeses could still be harder to get in parts of Canada than French versions once the European free trade deal takes effect. Since this is one of the most visible aspects of interprovincial trade barriers to consumers, most won’t feel like the deal has done much at all.
HUNTING
Most provinces have maintained provincial control over hunting licences, something done to ensure local outfitters and guides have a role in tourism, whether from within Canada or by foreigners.