Promoting trade both within Canada and abroad is part of our government’s 10-point economic plan to generate new opportunities for growth and attract investment to the province. The Manitoba government has therefore re-introduced proposed legislation in order to meet its obligations under the new Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA).

The Canadian free trade agreement implementation act proposes administrative amendments to The Labour Mobility Act and The Regulated Health Professions Act that would ensure the labour mobility obligations set out under all domestic trade agreements are covered. The proposed legislation would also streamline the way Manitoba implements domestic trade agreements, to enable the province to add or change references in these acts by regulation, instead of requiring legislation.

The CFTA seeks to reduce and eliminate barriers to the free movement of workers, goods, services and investments within Canada to ensure an open, efficient and stable domestic market, which supports Manitoba’s commitment to reduce red tape, improve regulatory efficiency and better align regulations across jurisdictions.

Part of this new agreement is a regulatory reconciliation process to help address regulatory measures that are compliant with the CFTA but may act as a barrier to doing business across provincial and territorial lines. It also establishes processes to facilitate co-operation in the development of future regulatory measures to avoid divergences that may impair trade, investment or labour mobility. The Regulatory Reconciliation and Cooperation Table (RCT) will oversee these processes.

To assist in identifying priority areas for regulatory reconciliation and co-operation efforts, we would like to hear from Manitoba businesses and stakeholder groups to inform the work of the RCT. Organisations are invited to complete a short online questionnaire.

As reported by Manitoba gov.