Kenney pushes freer trade
Wants more open borders: Varcoe
Jason Kenney has offered a carrot to other provinces to encourage freer trade across the federation.
But Alberta’s premier is also prepared to wield a stick to crack open restrictive booze policies in other parts of the country, challenging provinces that discriminate against Alberta liquor products.
At the annual meeting of Canada’s premiers this week, Kenney announced Alberta will unilaterally slash half of the exemptions the province has in place within the Canadian Free Trade Agreement.
Such exceptions included in the 2017 pact let Alberta create restrictions on out-of-province businesses being able to bid on procurement contracts by various government entities.
“They simply represent higher costs for Alberta taxpayers and so we are happy to repeal those,” Kenney said in an interview.
Other steps to pry open interprovincial trade are coming.
The New West Partnership, an existing regional trade deal that extends from Manitoba to British Columbia, will be opened to other provinces.
Kenney wants the premiers to smooth the way for enhanced labour mobility between provinces, speeding up the process for mutual recognition of credentials for professions and trades.
Alberta will explore moving on its own if this perennial problem isn’t fixed.
For an energy-rich province that leans heavily on trades and skilled labour, these are significant steps.
Making it easier for health care professionals to work in different provinces — and eliminating barriers on who can bid on major infrastructure developments — is long overdue.
“Helping people get their skills and credentials recognized faster within Canada is one highly effective way to add a little fuel into an economy, and it doesn’t have to cost the government a lot of money,” Adam Legge of the Business Council of Alberta said in a statement.
As the premier has often pointed out, it’s easier today for workers, goods and services to flow between the 28 separate countries of the European Union than it is within Canada.
How does that make any sense? Protectionism comes with a cost. An International Monetary Fund report this year found GDP per person in Canada would climb by four per cent if trade in goods and services was fully liberalized.
University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe, who worked on the report, said there are significant benefits to removing internal trade obstacles, as they cost the Canadian economy an estimated $80 billion a year.
The gains can be big and small. He cites the example of businesses across the country having to follow different provincial rules for what must be included in a first aid kit. Harmonizing these regulations saves about $3 million a year.
A joint communique signed by the premiers on Wednesday commits the provinces to identifying and fixing the impediments to labour mobility, to sync up regulations and further liberalize interprovincial trade on alcohol.
However, the booze issue continues to be the proverbial skunk sitting in the middle of the trading road.
Alberta has had a relatively open market since privatizing liquor stores in the 1990s.
Domestic liquor manufacturers have long complained other provinces use their government-controlled systems as a shield, limiting space for Wild Rose products on their shelves.
Last winter, the province said Alberta lists 745 liquor products from Ontario. Yet, only about 20 Alberta products can be found for sale in stores of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario.
Rachel Notley’s NDP government initiated a trade challenge last year against Ontario under the free-trade agreement. Consultations between the two provinces are ongoing.
Despite taking a co-operative approach to interprovincial trade this week, Kenney isn’t backing down from the tussle with Ontario.
“In fact, I reiterated today that if we don’t see fairer access in other provinces, we will not only continue that challenge, but we will look at expanding challenges to other provinces’ unfair practices on our liquor ... products,” the premier said late Wednesday.
“We definitely think we are being treated unfairly and we will use the legal mechanisms at our disposal.”
These steps come after the Notley government got itself into hot water on the trade front over discriminatory markups placed on beer brewed outside of the province. Last year, a judge found the policies created a trade barrier and violated an interprovincial free-trade provision in the Constitution. The courts ordered Alberta to pay more than $2 million in restitution to Great Western Brewing of Saskatoon and Steam Whistle Brewing of Toronto. The province has since appealed the ruling and a decision is pending.
For Alberta brewers, news the UCP government is willing to continue the beer battle is a positive sign.
“Unfortunately, when it came to Ontario, it had to go through the trade challenge route, but that’s just a tool in the premier’s arsenal,” said Mike Mcneil, executive director of the Alberta Small Brewers Association.
Legal and trade challenges shouldn’t be the first tactic in the broader push to amp up trade in Canada, but they can’t be ignored.
By heading out on its own — with a carrot in one hand and a stick in the other — Alberta could help promote freer trade within the country.