Provinces poised to agree on plan to open up internal trade: Ontario minister
Posted Jul 7, 2016 05:19:57 PM.
Last Updated Jul 7, 2016 05:49:10 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – Ontario’s economic development minister says he fully expects the provinces to agree Friday on a long-awaited proposal that aims to ease Canada’s tangled web of interprovincial trade barriers.
Brad Duguid tells The Canadian Press that he and his provincial counterparts will unveil the broad strokes of a package of recommendations that seek to open up internal trade.
Duguid, who is chairing the talks, says the premiers will have the final word on whether to sign or amend a proposal that have been in the works for about two years.
He says the premiers will have an opportunity to discuss the details of the plan together when they meet later this month in Whitehorse, Yukon.
Duguid says the recommendations will aggressively attack divergent regulations across the country that make it very difficult for businesses to do commerce nationally.
But while Duguid is confident any lingering sticking points can be addressed Friday, Alberta Economic Development Minister Deron Bilous says he’s hesitant to speculate that the talks will produce a national agreement.
