Latest news with #SeoRhinYoo
Cision Canada
08-07-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
Committee on Internal Trade meeting a test for Canada's internal trade commitments Français
TORONTO, July 8, 2025 /CNW/ - With the Committee on Internal Trade (CIT) meeting later today, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) has sent committee members a letter calling for progress and clarity around key commitments on a pan-Canadian mutual recognition agreement on goods, and direct-to-consumer alcohol delivery. "As we noted in our annual Internal Trade Report Card last week, there has been more progress on removing trade barriers within Canada in the past six months than in eight years since the Canadian Free Trade Agreement was signed," said SeoRhin Yoo, senior policy analyst for interprovincial affairs. "But with multiple jurisdictions taking multiple approaches on the file, there is potential for a confusing patchwork of rules and regulations. The CIT is a critical piece to stop that from happening and provide the clarity small businesses need to move forward and plan with confidence." At the June 2, 2025 First Ministers meeting in Sakskatoon, the premiers and Prime Minister directed the CIT to "rapidly conclude a comprehensive Mutual Recognition Agreement covering consumer goods, in alignment with CIT discussions, with implementation by December 2025." Given seven jurisdictions have already passed mutual recognition legislation, CFIB is seeking clarity on what a CIT agreement would mean for both the provinces with existing legislation and for the internal trade file as a whole. Additionally, after the March 5 First Ministers meeting in Ottawa it was noted that many provinces were working on allowing direct-to-consumer alcohol delivery across provincial borders. While many provinces have a framework in place, currently only Manitoba allows for full direct-to-consumer interjurisdictional shipment of Canadian wine, craft beer and spirits. "People can order a pair of shoes or a board game from one coast to the other, but in most provinces, you still can't get a bottle of wine, or a case of beer delivered from the province next door," said Ryan Mallough, vice-president of legislative affairs. "It's 2025. It makes no sense to leave alcohol delivery in the 1800s. Several provinces have gotten their legislative frameworks in place, but we need to see more action to allow goods to get moving." Read CFIB's full Interprovincial Cooperation Report Card. About CFIB The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada's largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 100,000 members across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners' chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at
CTV News
07-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
ADVERTISEMENT Watch Ont.-Alta. trade memoranda of understanding ‘doesn't have the legal bite of legislation': analyst Senior policy analyst SeoRhin Yoo on the Ford-Smith trade deal, if it's political theatre, and hopes for interprovincial trade talks in Quebec City.
Watch Senior policy analyst SeoRhin Yoo on the Ford-Smith trade deal, if it's political theatre, and hopes for interprovincial trade talks in Quebec City.
Cision Canada
30-06-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
Canada's internal trade barriers are finally coming down, but patchwork of government approaches could create new challenges Français
CFIB's 2025 internal trade report card sees major improvements from provinces introducing mutual recognition legislation TORONTO, June 30, 2025 /CNW/ - More progress has been made on removing trade barriers within Canada in the past six months than in eight years since the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) was signed, finds the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)'s latest State of Internal Trade report: Interprovincial Cooperation Report Card. "While progress to date has been encouraging, we also have seven different jurisdictions taking seven different approaches to mutual recognition. That kind of patchwork can wind up recreating the barriers it was meant to knock down," said Ryan Mallough, CFIB's vice-president of legislative affairs. "We're marching the ball down field, but we haven't reached the end zone just yet. The premiers and the prime minister have instructed the Committee on Internal Trade to reach a pan-Canadian mutual recognition agreement for December. We'll be watching those conversations closely to ensure we cross the goal line and finally eliminate Canada's internal trade barriers once and for all." Nova Scotia, the first province to introduce and implement mutual recognition legislation, achieved the highest grade in CFIB's 2025 Internal trade report card with a score of 9.4 (A grade). Ontario is a close second after eliminating all of its CFTA exemptions, scoring a 9.2 (A grade). The 2025 report card grades are: The federal government is scored on two areas: the economic impact score based on the procurement exceptions they maintain from the CFTA in 2025, and the implementation status of reconciliation agreements. Both areas are weighted equally (50% each) as the select barriers area was not available for this analysis. The report grades three major areas of interprovincial/territorial cooperation: CFTA exceptions, select barriers to trade, and the status of items from reconciliation agreements. There's an updated bonus indicator that rewards jurisdictions that accept other regions' regulations and standards as sufficient within their own jurisdiction. "Three years ago, we challenged governments to blow a hole through Canada's internal trade barriers by adopting mutual recognition policies to get the flow of goods, services and people moving across the country. At the time, we heard all the reasons why it couldn't be done. But just in the past six months we've seen seven jurisdictions with mutual recognition legislation on the books," said SeoRhin Yoo, CFIB's senior policy analyst for interprovincial affairs. "The internal trade file is finally getting the attention is has desperately needed since the CFTA was signed in 2017. While there's lots of reason for optimism, we'll be closely watching governments' next steps, including the crucial regulations that will follow legislation, to ensure the rules match the rhetoric and small businesses feel actual progress on the ground." Read CFIB's full Canada's Interprovincial Cooperation Report Card. About CFIB The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada's largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 100,000 members across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners' chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at
Cision Canada
27-05-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
Streamlining licensing and workers compensation registration key to unlocking Canadian labour mobility Français
TORONTO, May 27, 2025 /CNW/ - As the Committee on Internal Trade's June 1 deadline for delivering an action plan to boost labour mobility approaches, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)'s new snapshot highlights inconsistent regulations and standards restricting labour mobility across the country. "There has been lots of positive talk at all levels of government around breaking down labour mobility barriers in Canada, but we haven't seen all the action needed to support it yet," said SeoRhin Yoo, CFIB's senior policy analyst. "The June 1 deadline to deliver an action plan on labour mobility, as well as the First Ministers' Meeting on June 2 are opportunities for Premiers and the Prime Minister to show Canadian small business owners that they're serious about eliminating internal trade barriers." Of small businesses who have hired workers from, or have employees working in, other jurisdictions, nearly half (49%) have experienced challenges. For those businesses, top challenges include lack of recognition of certifications between jurisdictions, acquiring provincial licensing, adjusting Occupational Health and Safety rules to fit requirements of another jurisdiction, and registering business and employees in workers' compensation outside of their home province/territory. CFIB is urging governments to minimize exceptions, streamline certification processes, mutually recognize equivalent qualifications, and make it easier and quicker for employees to start working in another jurisdiction. "We're hearing from businesses that navigating WCB systems is time-consuming and that differing provincial regulations make it hard to operate and expand across Canada," said Bradlee Whidden, CFIB's senior policy analyst. "We need policies that would open doors for workers and allow businesses to better recruit and retain employees. Workers would be able to move to areas where their skills are in higher demand, while businesses would be able to fill vacancies more quickly, boosting Canada's economy and productivity while addressing unemployment. That can be done without compromising public safety, but we need political will and governments working together." Some examples of labour mobility barriers include: A nurse registered to practice in Ontario must still register with Quebec's college in order to start work in Quebec. A Red Seal-certified stylist from Newfoundland and Labrador cannot legally use the titles "hairstylist" or "hairdresser" in New Brunswick unless they have a separate, mandatory licence from the Cosmetology Association of New Brunswick. They must also fill out an out-of-province application with supporting documents and pay $340, and the whole process could take up to 30 days. Podiatrists from Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Northwest Territories must complete additional training before they can register and fully practice in Alberta. About CFIB The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada's largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 100,000 members across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners' chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at
Associated Press
27-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Streamlining licensing and workers compensation registration key to unlocking Canadian labour mobility
TORONTO, May 27, 2025 /CNW/ - As the Committee on Internal Trade's June 1 deadline for delivering an action plan to boost labour mobility approaches, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)'s new snapshot highlights inconsistent regulations and standards restricting labour mobility across the country. 'There has been lots of positive talk at all levels of government around breaking down labour mobility barriers in Canada, but we haven't seen all the action needed to support it yet,' said SeoRhin Yoo, CFIB's senior policy analyst. 'The June 1 deadline to deliver an action plan on labour mobility, as well as the First Ministers' Meeting on June 2 are opportunities for Premiers and the Prime Minister to show Canadian small business owners that they're serious about eliminating internal trade barriers.' Of small businesses who have hired workers from, or have employees working in, other jurisdictions, nearly half (49%) have experienced challenges. For those businesses, top challenges include lack of recognition of certifications between jurisdictions, acquiring provincial licensing, adjusting Occupational Health and Safety rules to fit requirements of another jurisdiction, and registering business and employees in workers' compensation outside of their home province/territory. CFIB is urging governments to minimize exceptions, streamline certification processes, mutually recognize equivalent qualifications, and make it easier and quicker for employees to start working in another jurisdiction. 'We're hearing from businesses that navigating WCB systems is time-consuming and that differing provincial regulations make it hard to operate and expand across Canada,' said Bradlee Whidden, CFIB's senior policy analyst. 'We need policies that would open doors for workers and allow businesses to better recruit and retain employees. Workers would be able to move to areas where their skills are in higher demand, while businesses would be able to fill vacancies more quickly, boosting Canada's economy and productivity while addressing unemployment. That can be done without compromising public safety, but we need political will and governments working together.' Some examples of labour mobility barriers include: Read the full Stuck at the border: How paperwork hinders labour mobility for small businesses snapshot. About CFIB The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada's largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 100,000 members across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners' chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at SOURCE Canadian Federation of Independent Business
