Irony lost on premiers

It sounds like a broken record, but it needs repeating for the benefit of Canada’s first ministers as they gather today in Montreal. Federal and provincial governments recognize that international trade agreements and lower tariffs support the Canadian economy. Yet, our governments continue to stall on reducing red tape and removing obstacles to interprovincial trade here at home. The country should get its own house in order to take full advantage of recent agreements with Europe, Pacific rim countries and the United States and Mexico. Atlantic Canada, in particular, depends on international trade to sell our seafood, agricultural commodities, oil and manufacturing products. Yet, we are reluctant to allow booze to flow across provincial borders.

Perhaps Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil will have some good news to report in Montreal. During the July meeting of the Council of the Federation in St. Andrew’s, N.B., he was asked — along with Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister — to lead discussions to cut red tape and reduce interprovincial trade barriers.

There has been some progress but it’s painfully slow. Pallister had to twist arms in July just to get an increase in transporting booze for personal consumption across provincial borders. Atlantic Canada has found a new champion in the Manitoba premier. He is pushing Ottawa to cut federal restrictions that harm the fisheries and resource sectors. And, with reports that food prices are going to take a significant jump this winter, eliminating trade barriers is more urgent than ever. During his recent fall economic update, Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau presented a list of 23 regulatory barriers to tackle. If the deal on booze is any indication, it seems the first ministers have a lot of work ahead in Montreal — if they even reach that agenda item.

Any progress on trade barriers and red tape — the original focus of this first minister’s meeting — will assuredly be sidetracked in a looming wrangle over pipelines, carbon pricing and oil prices. These are immediate and important issues and it took considerable provincial pressure to have them added to the agenda in Montreal. The oil crisis in Alberta hammers home the urgent need to get that resource to market. It re-opens interest in an eastern pipeline and the need to push ahead with the Trans Mountain expansion.

Analysts expect one of the more acrimonious meetings in recent years in Montreal. The stage is set for grandstanding by four provinces that have joined a court challenge to the federal carbon pricing plan. If all sides generally agree that carbon is a major problem, there can be different ways to reach an acceptable solution. Why is court the only option, instead of compromise?

The premiers are throwing up border barriers to block progress on pipelines, carbon and oil prices. They should step back and learn a valuable lesson from their own red tape and interprovincial trade committee. Co-operation and consensus is the way forward to solve their problems.

Don’t the first ministers see the irony here?