I would like to believe that the reason we don't do more inter provincial trade is because, usually, the less expensive option is the shortest distance from point A to point B. This is a very large country. For provinces along the boarder it would make sense to procure product from nearby states. I also believe if tariffs are placed on American goods we should break that habit. Many businesses that I have worked with over the years suffer from, "but this is the way we've always done it" syndrome. In a way it's sad. Canada has so much raw talent and material but we always believe another country does it better.
I agree that we need more specific targets in anything like this and can see how there could be business development connections made (though I'd assume a lot of these have been considered organically and will automatically be reconsidered as a result of any change in equilibriums brought about by tariff imposition).
Yet I'm inclined to believe focus on regulation and internal barriers is a very good direction.
From RBC earlier this year: "The International Monetary Fund has estimated that internal trade barriers (for example, regulatory differences across regions, paperwork requirements for businesses in multiple jurisdictions, and certification differences that limit labour mobility) cost the equivalent of a 20% average tariff between provinces." The same paper notes how little productivity gains have contributed to our GDP growth and points to a trend of poorer returns on investment in Canada which is causing more of our dollars to be invested south of the border.
Now, I've never been part of any regulation efforts in my career, but it seems that there's a lot of variability between jurisdictions. That variability must make business more expensive as a result. In my experience, a lot of businesses sit at a comfortable position just before they need to explore other markets because of these regulatory environments. Our economy has to spend more time understanding the variety of systems (often requiring expensive specialized gatekeepers to navigate the complexity for us). Without being an expert or having a particularly advantageous line of sight (I'm not operating any business), I can see complex government procurement policies (often attempting forms of protectionism), different labour standards (e.g. for training, working conditions, taxation), supply management systems, liquor control laws (which make it hard to get any product to shelf), and provincial inspection systems (e.g. for abattoirs) are but a few challenges.
To what extent do differences in building code standards impact trade? There would be impacts on how easy it is for a construction company from Ontario to set up shop in NB (I'd think). We could harmonize across Canada to automatically adopt building codes within a year of their publication (a lag for inspector training and anything required to stand up the code enforcement). What could we do to standardize zoning.
Maybe a closer look at internal trade barriers is a great opportunity to get the more detailed tactics that we'd all like to see...
I would like to believe that the reason we don't do more inter provincial trade is because, usually, the less expensive option is the shortest distance from point A to point B. This is a very large country. For provinces along the boarder it would make sense to procure product from nearby states. I also believe if tariffs are placed on American goods we should break that habit. Many businesses that I have worked with over the years suffer from, "but this is the way we've always done it" syndrome. In a way it's sad. Canada has so much raw talent and material but we always believe another country does it better.
I agree that we need more specific targets in anything like this and can see how there could be business development connections made (though I'd assume a lot of these have been considered organically and will automatically be reconsidered as a result of any change in equilibriums brought about by tariff imposition).
Yet I'm inclined to believe focus on regulation and internal barriers is a very good direction.
From RBC earlier this year: "The International Monetary Fund has estimated that internal trade barriers (for example, regulatory differences across regions, paperwork requirements for businesses in multiple jurisdictions, and certification differences that limit labour mobility) cost the equivalent of a 20% average tariff between provinces." The same paper notes how little productivity gains have contributed to our GDP growth and points to a trend of poorer returns on investment in Canada which is causing more of our dollars to be invested south of the border.
Now, I've never been part of any regulation efforts in my career, but it seems that there's a lot of variability between jurisdictions. That variability must make business more expensive as a result. In my experience, a lot of businesses sit at a comfortable position just before they need to explore other markets because of these regulatory environments. Our economy has to spend more time understanding the variety of systems (often requiring expensive specialized gatekeepers to navigate the complexity for us). Without being an expert or having a particularly advantageous line of sight (I'm not operating any business), I can see complex government procurement policies (often attempting forms of protectionism), different labour standards (e.g. for training, working conditions, taxation), supply management systems, liquor control laws (which make it hard to get any product to shelf), and provincial inspection systems (e.g. for abattoirs) are but a few challenges.
To what extent do differences in building code standards impact trade? There would be impacts on how easy it is for a construction company from Ontario to set up shop in NB (I'd think). We could harmonize across Canada to automatically adopt building codes within a year of their publication (a lag for inspector training and anything required to stand up the code enforcement). What could we do to standardize zoning.
Maybe a closer look at internal trade barriers is a great opportunity to get the more detailed tactics that we'd all like to see...
Good points David. It would also help if we developed more of our natural resources. One example in Nova Scotia is uranium.