Project Alberta

July 7, 2007
Cold reception to call for trade between provinces
Manitoba, Saskatchewan won't follow B.C., Alberta's lead
By CP

IQALUIT, Nunavut -- British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell is suggesting Canada won't qualify as a real country until goods and people can move freely from province to province.

But Campbell's impassioned plea yesterday for interprovincial free trade, delivered at the close of the annual western premiers conference, revealed divisions among his colleagues over how best to cement Canada's so-called economic union.

"I think it's time for us to decide whether we're a country or not. I think it's ridiculous that someone can be trained as a teacher in Manitoba and isn't able to teach in British Columbia," Campbell said. "When are we going to decide we're a country? When are we going to decide that the free movement of goods and people and services is something that's part of what a national identity should be?"

Campbell and Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach are promoting a free-trade agreement implemented last year between their two provinces as a model for the rest of the country.

But while there's broad agreement on the need for goods and labour to move freely across provincial boundaries, Manitoba's Gary Doer and Saskatchewan's Lorne Calvert indicated they have qualms about signing on to the Alberta-B.C. deal.

Doer suggested that current agreements between various provinces are fine but the real test of free trade is whether provinces are prepared to override associations, such as those governing teachers, doctors, nurses and building tradespeople, which often set professional standards that differ from province to province.

Moreover, Doer said, past agreements have failed to provide for adequate enforcement.

"They have been in essence toothless tigers," he said.

Doer has been working on a framework for a nationwide free-trade agreement that is to be discussed by all premiers at their annual meeting next month in Moncton, N.B.

For his part, Calvert said he's concerned that the Alberta-B.C. model would interfere with the autonomy of governments, for instance, to insist on employing local labour for municipal projects.

Calvert said he supports Doer's initiative to come up with a national free-trade agreement, rather than a series of bilateral deals between provinces.

"If we find ourselves balkanized into sectoral approaches on trade agreements, then, again, we're defeating the purpose of building that strong Canada that Premier Campbell talks about."

Campbell's plea was part of his pitch for provinces to stop griping about Ottawa and start taking the lead on important issues.

Source; http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Canada/ ... 1-sun.html