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Economic Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Canada tables 'One Canadian Economy' Bill to boost domestic trade and infrastructure
Prime Minister Mark Carney's government introduced Bill C-5, the "One Canadian Economy" bill, aiming to dismantle interprovincial trade barriers and expedite infrastructure project approvals. This initiative seeks to unify Canada's internal market, addressing trade tensions with the U.S. The bill targets federal obstacles to trade and labor mobility, potentially boosting the Canadian economy by $200 billion annually. Prime Minister Mark Carney's government has introduced Bill C-5 to dismantle interprovincial trade barriers, expedite major infrastructure projects and to boost domestic trade. It will unify Canada's internal market amid rising trade tensions with the US. (Image Credit: AP) Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Accelerating Nation-Building Projects Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Responding to US Trade Pressures Legislative Outlook Prime Minister Mark Carney 's government has introduced Bill C-5 , the "One Canadian Economy" bill, to dismantle interprovincial trade barriers and expedite the approval of major infrastructure projects. This legislative move seeks to unify Canada 's fragmented internal market and strengthen its economy amid escalating trade tensions with the United was tabled after a first ministers' meeting in Saskatoon, during which Prime Minister Mark Carney , premiers, and territorial leaders discussed expediting major projects and interprovincial trade. The proposed legislation targets the elimination of federal obstacles to interprovincial trade and labor said that these internal barriers cost the Canadian economy approximately $200 billion annually. By aligning federal regulations with those of the provinces and territories, the bill will create a cohesive national market for the free movement of goods, services, and labor across Canada.'With the 'One Canadian Economy' bill, we are aligning federal rules and regulations with those from the provinces and territories, helping to create one market, not 13,' Carney said on Friday, June Canadian Chamber of Commerce supported the initiative, noting that while it may not entirely counteract the effects of a trade war with the US, it represents a significant step toward internal economic Holmes, the Chamber's chief of public policy, stated that eliminating exceptions to the Canadian Free Trade Agreement is a logical progression toward true free trade within addition to addressing trade barriers, the bill proposes a streamlined process for approving major infrastructure projects deemed of national interest. The government plans to establish a federal office dedicated to expediting project approvals, potentially reducing timelines from up to a decade to just two projects would include those in the energy, mining, and transportation sectors, provided they offer significant economic and environmental benefits, such as carbon emission reductions and support for Indigenous provincial governments' autonomy, Carney has assured that no projects will proceed without their some provinces, including Alberta and British Columbia, have expressed differing views on specific introduction of the "One Canadian Economy" bill comes in the wake of increased US tariffs on Canadian exports. Carney has labeled these tariffs as "unlawful" and emphasized the need for Canada to bolster its domestic approach includes engaging with the oil industry to balance environmental goals with economic have centered around supporting new pipelines and carbon capture initiatives, aiming to position Canada as an energy leader while reducing reliance on U.S. government wants to pass the "One Canadian Economy" bill before Parliament's summer recess, though the timeline remains tight. As a minority government, the Liberals will need to garner support from opposition parties to ensure the bill's outcome will significantly influence Canada's economic strategy and its ability to navigate current and future trade legislative effort represents a bold move toward unifying Canada's internal market and enhancing its economic sovereignty. If successful, it could pave the way for increased domestic trade, improved infrastructure, and a more resilient national economy.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Carney launches ‘One Canadian Economy' Act to unify trade, approvals
-- Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled sweeping legislation Friday aimed at accelerating the approval of infrastructure projects and removing long-standing internal trade barriers, part of a broader effort to boost Canada's economic potential amid mounting global uncertainty. The One Canadian Economy Act, a centerpiece of the Carney government's pro-growth agenda, seeks to consolidate regulatory processes and create a unified domestic market across the national landscape. 'Canada's a country that used to build big things,' Carney said at a press conference. 'But in recent decades it's become too difficult to build in this country.' To address these concerns, the bill would cut federal project approval times from five years to two by creating a one-stop permitting office and applying a 'one-project, one-review' standard to infrastructure proposals. Projects deemed 'nation-building' by federal cabinet, such as railways, ports, pipelines, and transmission lines, would undergo streamlined assessments focused not on justification, but implementation. These proposals must satisfy at least some of five criteria, including economic benefit, Indigenous engagement, and contributions to climate goals, though officials stress these are considerations rather than strict thresholds. The new approach was partially galvanized by concerns over regulatory paralysis that has slowed Canada's ability to bring natural resources to global markets. 'When federal agencies have examined a new project, their immediate question has been: Why?' Carney said Friday. 'With this bill, we will instead ask ourselves: How?' The legislation also tackles internal trade barriers, which economists estimate cost tens of billions of dollars in lost productivity and economic output annually. A major provision of the bill would recognize provincial standards for goods, services and labor certification as meeting the federal benchmark, though actual interprovincial mobility will still require the cooperation of provincial governments. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has expressed skepticism over the bill's broader impact, calling the internal trade components 'a small step.' 'It's baby steps when we needed a giant leap,' Poilievre said Friday, while suggesting provinces be offered cash incentives to dismantle remaining trade barriers. While some provinces have already commenced bilateral trade agreements, others remain hesitant. The federal government says its own contributions include the elimination of all exemptions to the Canadian Free Trade Agreement by July 1, with the broader hope that harmonization efforts will follow across jurisdictions. Related articles Carney launches 'One Canadian Economy' Act to unify trade, approvals US job growth in May tops forecasts, but Macquarie warns cracks are emerging Fed's Harker says rate cuts this year still possible
Toronto Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- Toronto Sun
New federal bill aims to eliminate internal trade barriers
Published Jun 06, 2025 • 1 minute read Prime Minister Mark Carney introduces his new cabinet at Rideau Hall on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Ottawa. Photo by Adam Huras / Postmedia Network OTTAWA — The Liberal government has introduced legislation aimed at cutting down barriers to internal trade by recognizing provincial and territorial rules at the federal level. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Officials who briefed reporters this morning say the goal is to reduce the number of redundant standards across the country. They say that, for example, a company that produces washing machines that meet a provincial energy efficiency standard won't have to meet a separate federal standard to sell outside that province. The bill also looks to recognize provincial and territorial licensing and certification for some workers, so that someone licensed to work in one province is assumed to be licensed at the federal level. Prime Minister Mark Carney has promised to eliminate interprovincial trade barriers by Canada Day. The federal government says that, so far, it's removed almost 70 per cent of the exceptions it has imposed on the Canadian Free Trade Agreement. NHL Ontario Toronto & GTA Celebrity Ontario
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Nurse college must be able to pivot: health minister
Manitoba's health minister says the regulatory body for nursing is blocking internationally educated nurses who want to practise in the province and driving them away. 'What we're hearing from nurses — not just IENs but across the board — is that the college continues to be a barrier to nurses successfully joining the front lines and they're leaving Manitoba as a result, or not considering Manitoba as an option,' Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said late Thursday. The health minister was defending their directive that the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba stop requiring 'labour mobility applicants' have 450 hours of nursing experience in Canada over the past two years or 1,225 hours over the past five years. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara: 'If Manitoba wants to be competitive in the health care staffing market, we have to be willing to adapt and evolve.' In 2022, the Progressive Conservative government directed the college to stop requiring out-of-province applicants have recent Canadian experience. The college said it then tracked a significant increase in complaints about nursing incompetence linked to labour mobility applicants, and that two patients have died as a result. It cited complaints about a lack of nursing knowledge, skill and judgment, the inability to take or interpret vital signs, perform a health assessment, safely administer medication or prioritize patient care. In December, the college reinstated the requirement for nurses to have recent Canadian experience. Asagwara ordered the college to stop, saying it was breaking internal trade laws, including the Canadian Free Trade Agreement and the New West Partnership Trade Agreement's labour mobility rules, and legislation requiring regulated professions to ensure their registration practices comply with obligations of a domestic trade agreement. College registrar Deb Elias said Wednesday the province is putting labour mobility and its support for interprovincial free trade ahead of patient safety and lives. The health minister — who is also a registered psychiatric nurse — said the college's complaints have been taken 'very seriously'and 'immediate steps' were taken to keep patients safe. The province is working with regional health authorities and employers to make sure there are pathways for internationally educated nurses to get more support or resources so they can succeed as a nurse or elsewhere on the front line, said Asagwara. The minister said the college is also rejecting qualified nurses. 'We've heard from a number of nurses in the U.S., nurse academics, federal nurses who've been trying to get licensed in Manitoba to practise in nursing stations. We've heard of cases where nurses who practised in Manitoba for over 30 years — in one case, a nurse who practised for 35 years and was short one hour in her recency was denied a licence to return to the front lines as a recently retired nurse.' Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Asagwara said the health department's recruitment and retention office is triaging 'literally dozens of nurses who've come to us because they have not been supported by the college.' The minister said Manitoba has to be able to pivot. 'We have to be able to evolve. The college, I know, has historically been unwilling to do so. That's not the landscape of health care in Canada anymore,' Asagawara said. 'If Manitoba wants to be competitive in the health care staffing market, we have to be willing to adapt and evolve and meet the growing needs and economic realities.' Carol SandersLegislature reporter Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol. Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Regulator criticizes relaxed labour mobility rules, says some Manitoba nurses can't perform 'very basic' tasks
Manitoba's nursing regulator says some of the province's newest nurses struggle with basic tasks like taking blood pressure or administering medication, as the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba speaks out against a recent ministerial order to remove what it calls a guardrail for patient safety in the interest of labour mobility. On Wednesday, the college said in an April letter, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara ordered it to remove a requirement stating nursing applicants registered to practise elsewhere — known as "labour mobility applicants" — needed to have a certain number of hours of practise in Canada in the last two to five years before being allowed to work in Manitoba. College registrar Deb Elias says in 2022, Manitoba's former Progressive Conservative government waived the rule that nurses from other jurisdictions must prove they had worked recently. That means a nurse can now live in Manitoba, but register in another province where it might be easier to get a licence. Elias says it means some new Manitoba nurses missed "critical checks for patient safety," contributing to 35 complaints against labour mobility registrants that involved severe patient harm and two deaths, according to a February college report — something Elias called "deeply concerning and very morally distressing." "The allegations are about really significant, gross nursing incompetence," she told CBC News on Wednesday. "One example is applying a medication patch to an article of clothing, as opposed to skin where it should be — so it's very basic nursing practice issues that have significant effects on patient safety." Manitoba's Labour Mobility Act states that any worker certified by a regulatory authority in another province is recognized as being qualified in Manitoba. But not all Canadian jurisdictions require the same clinical competence assessment. From 2018 to 2022, Manitoba received an average of 168 labour mobility applications, but the number jumped to 637 — a near 300 per cent increase — in 2024, the college said in its February report. Complaints also rose alongside the increase of labour mobility registrants, the report says. Labour mobility registrants were involved in about seven per cent of all complaints in 2023, but that number tripled to nearly 22 per cent the following year. The college says 91 per cent of labour mobility registrants who were subject to a complaint did not meet its standard threshold of 450 registered nursing hours in the last two years, or 1,125 hours in the past five years. Back in December, the college reinstated the rule for Canadian work experience, until the province stepped in. In Asagwara's April letter to the college, the minister cited concerns about compliance with internal trade agreements and provincial legislation, the college says. But Elias claims some nurses are "finding loopholes using the Canadian Free Trade Agreement in order to become registered elsewhere," she said. "Then we have to register them here, so then they're put into practice and potentially put into situations that they're not adequately prepared for." No registered nurses lost their licence due to the change the college made in December, the college said. However, Elias said she'd like to see any nurses who don't have the desired work experience in Canada complete more training before returning to work. "It may delay them being a registered nurse for a period of time, but then when they enter the system, they'll be there for the long haul, providing safe care," she said. Elias says some may think of the requirement as a barrier, but the college sees it as a guardrail for patient safety that's in the public interest. She added that the college is not targeting internationally trained nurses, and that the issue involves "a small group [who are] looking for loopholes to get registered." "We know people are eager to get to work, but being eager and being ready to practise are two different things." Manitoba Nurses Union president Darlene Jackson says her organization agrees with the college, because without proper training, nurses are set up to fail. "They are coming into our system unprepared for what a Canadian health-care system is," she told CBC News on Wednesday. "We want these nurses in our system. We want them out there working, but we want them practising [safely]." Health Minister Asagwara says all complaints are being handled, but it's unfair to judge all nurses in the same way. "We have to be reasonable in how we welcome nurses … to the front lines of our health-care system," Asagwara said in a Wednesday interview. "There are hundreds of internationally educated nurses who have come to Manitoba through that pathway, who are successfully working on the front lines of our health-care system and providing excellent patient care every single day."
