Manitoba bill encourages trade with other provinces

The Manitoba government wants to give preferential treatment to other provinces that remove barriers to buying and selling goods and services within Canada.

Bill 47 establishes “mutual recognition rules” to facilitate more inter-regional trade and rebrands June 1 as “Buy Manitoba, Buy Canadian Day.”

“A competitive and open economy within Canada, that is open to trade and encourages domestic buy-in will make sure that we remain the ‘True North, Strong and Free,’” Trade Minister Jamie Moses told the legislative assembly as he read aloud the proposed legislation for the first time Thursday.

Moses said the bill aims to increase the flow of goods, services and investments between Manitoba and the rest of the country.

It gives Manitoba the power to designate another province or territory that takes similar steps to remove barriers to trade as a “reciprocating jurisdiction.”

That means another region’s products will be treated as if they have met local certification, testing and quality standards and will not be subject to additional approval requirements and related fees.

Out-of-province services will also be exempt from related red tape.

These changes fulfil the province’s “commitment to continue to grow our province’s economic resilience and prosperity,” said Moses, whose extensive portfolio includes business, mining, trade and job creation.

At the same time, the minister said he wants to start recognizing June 1 as a special day to celebrate local businesses.

Premier Wab Kinew met with Ontario Premier Doug Ford last week to sign a bilateral deal to increase the movement of goods and labour.

Ford’s government recently tabled legislation to loosen protections on certain goods and services that Ontario gets from elsewhere in Canada.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca