Quebec says it 'is open to interprovincial trade' after tabling new bill

Calgary Herald

4 days ago

OTTAWA – Quebec is joining the Canadian internal trade party. One of the most regulated provinces in the country has introduced 'the most ambitious bill in Canada' aimed at removing its trade barriers.
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'We are sending a signal that Quebec is open to interprovincial trade,' said Christopher Skeete, Quebec's minister delegate for the economy. 'We must accept to open our market.'
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Quebec is yet another Canadian province to remove such barriers, along with Nova Scotia, Ontario and New Brunswick. Nova Scotia was the first province to pass a new law encouraging reciprocity between provinces and territories earlier this year.
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'For me, reciprocity is not the answer. Our solution has been to open for everybody regardless, and we believe if everybody does that, we each achieve the same goal,' Skeete said in an interview with National Post.
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With Prime Minister Mark Carney scheduled to meet with his provincial counterparts in the coming days, Quebec announced it wants to open its market to other provinces by allowing any of their products to be marketed, used or consumed without any other requirement.
The idea is to facilitate trade in goods by adopting the principle of automatic recognition applicable to all Canadian products. Exceptions will be announced later, but alcohol is not among them. Though, it will be treated 'separately' due to its specific characteristics.
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'If it's good for somebody in Ontario, it should be good for Quebecers, unless we have a reason to say otherwise,' Skeete said. The reasons may be related to the protection of human safety, health, or the environment, for example. The construction sector is not included because the Quebec Building Code and the sector are different from those in the rest of the country.
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According to the government, 60 per cent of Quebec businesses have no activity in the Canadian market. However, since 2018, domestic trade has increased by 34 per cent to reach nearly $200 billion. Quebec businesses currently export goods and services worth $108 billion and import $96 billion.
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'In Quebec, we have our Civil Code… so it creates a little bit of a difference in the way that we write laws here, said Skeete. We had to do more work to make sure that we harmonize a little bit more with the rest of Canada.'