The Manitoba government has received a grade of A- on the Canadian Federation of Independent Business’ (CFIB) Interprovincial Cooperation Report Card for its work to reduce domestic trade barriers.
“Manitoba is a leader when it comes to breaking down interprovincial trade barriers and strengthening our economy,” said Business, Mining, Trade and Job Creation Minister Jamie Moses. “We’re proud to have passed bill 47, which will help goods and services move more freely across Canada in the face of United States and Chinese tariffs.”
Manitoba was one of only three provinces to receive an overall grade in the A-range, joined by Nova Scotia and Ontario.
The Interprovincial Cooperation Report Card grades provinces, territories and the federal government against several major areas of interprovincial/territorial co-operation, notably Canada Free Trade Agreement exceptions, select barriers to trade and the status of items from reconciliation agreements.
Manitoba passed the Fair Trade in Canada (Internal Trade Mutual Recognition) Act (bill 47) on June 3 to remove barriers to the trade in goods and the supply of services between Manitoba and other jurisdictions within Canada. The Manitoba government also recently approved regulations under the act to facilitate interprovincial trade with British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Ontario, the minister noted, adding these provinces are now mutually recognized by Manitoba to eliminate trade barriers.
