There are many reasons to be unhappy with interprovincial trade barriers, not least of which is the hypocrisy of a country that demands free trade from its international partners while not getting its own house in order.
But given the current economic climate, there is another concern on the list: affordability.
Just about everyone has their take on that subject.
Those who are trying to persuade the federal government to grant a carbon tax exemption for propane and natural gas used to dry grain and heat and cool barns and greenhouses often try to link the issue with the high price of groceries.
Other critics of carbon pricing suggest the affordability crisis can be simply solved. That solution? “Axe the tax.”
The federal government made a show of action by dragging grocery store executives onto the carpet and demanding that they lower food prices, while seemingly oblivious to the complexity of the food chain that gets groceries to store shelves.
None of these actions appear effective, other than to make it look like someone else should do something.
On another front, removing interprovincial trade barriers could help make Canadians’ lives more affordable, though it’s not an easy fix.
Two public policy analysts with the Montreal Economic Institute recently quoted a 2017 Statistics Canada report that found interprovincial trade barriers add seven percent to the costs of goods and services in this country.
They wrote that removing these barriers would increase incomes by an estimated 5.5 percent, or $1,800 a year.
According to a recent report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, interprovincial trade barriers cause a myriad of problems for small business owners, such as restrictions on selling certain food products across provincial borders, complicated sales tax structures when selling out of province, and restrictions on selling alcohol products across provincial lines.
But the problem goes further than the flow of goods and services.
Small businesses also reported labour problems, whether it be registering for workers’ compensation boards outside their home province, the cost, wait times and paperwork involved in acquiring provincial licensing in a new jurisdiction or recognition of certification in a new jurisdiction.
In fact, the CFIB reports that two in five businesses that hired or attempted to hire workers from outside their home province or send employees to work out of province said they experienced labour challenges.
Governments continue to commit to solving the problem, and indeed, much has been done in some jurisdictions. But more often than not, the rhetoric and promises produce measly results.
Last summer, when the premiers met in Winnipeg, they promised, among other things, to improve intergovernmental co-operation and pointed to work already done to reduce trade barriers.
Yet the conundrum persists.
This is very much a provincial problem, and progress made on this file varies greatly depending on location. But there is also room here for the federal government. Someone has to take a leadership role, and Ottawa is in a position to do that.
Canada is prone to lecturing other countries about trade barriers but the logic falls flat when free trade doesn’t exist among its own provinces.
Maybe looking at the issue through an affordability lens will prod federal and provincial governments to take more aggressive steps.
Karen Briere, Bruce Dyck, Barb Glen, Michael Robin, Robin Booker and Laura Rance collaborate in the writing of Western Producer editorials.
