Ontario, Saskatchewan sign deal to reduce trade barriers, improve labour flow
CBC
Amid economic uncertainty in Canada due in part to U.S. tariffs, the governments of Ontario and Saskatchewan have reached an agreement with the aim of taking steps to reduce trade barriers between the two provinces.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Saskatoon on Sunday ahead of a first ministers' meeting there.
Ontario has already signed MOUs with Prince Edward island, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The MOU with P.E.I. Premier Rob Lantz was signed earlier on Sunday.
Ford said the province is "standing up for free trade" within Canada by signing such agreements, adding that they're an attempt to offset the impact of U.S. tariffs on the Canadian economy.
"Our government is on a mission to protect Ontario and to protect Canada," he told reporters in Saskatoon.
"At a time when President [Donald] Trump is taking direct aim at our economy — and make no mistake about it, he wants to annihilate our economy, no matter if it's manufacturing in Ontario or any other jurisdiction that he can get his hands on, bring it down to the U.S. — and we're going to fight like we've never fought before, not just to protect Ontario but to protect the rest of our our country."
Ford said the agreement aims to not only increase the standard of living in Ontario and Saskatchewan but to improve investor confidence and allow for the free movement of their "best and most in-demand" workers.
"We're doing this by reducing barriers to internal trade.... We need to build a more competitive, more resilient, more self-reliant Canadian economy."
Saskatchewan's Moe said the MOU is "yet one more way that we are able to stand strong for our provinces, and collectively as provinces, stand strong for our country and all the people who call Canada home." He said both he and Ford have long been advocates of streamlining trade across the country.
"It shouldn't be easier to trade with other countries than it is to trade between the Canadian provinces of our nation," Moe told reporters.
"It's more important now, I would say, than ever for us to prioritize removing any and all barriers that we have that limit flow of trade and limit flow of professionals from moving across Canada," he added.
"It's very greatly appreciated to have another like-minded province join us on that front and to continue to put words into action."
Moe said the MOU contains mutual recognition and reciprocity — in particular, mutual recognition of goods, workers and investment. The agreement will only strengthen their respective economies, benefit workers and businesses and enhance the Canadian economy, he said.
According to the latest MOU, Ontario and Saskatchewan pledge to build on "enabling legislation" to remove internal trade barriers to boost the flow of goods, services, investment and workers, while maintaining and strengthening the levels of public safety and respecting the role of Crown corporations within some provincial industries.
Thoroughbred horse racing at Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse is ending after more than a century, with the operator announcing Friday it will no longer run a racing season at the historic facility.
A memorial to remember lives lost to gender-based violence was held in Charlottetown Friday, ahead of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, which is marked annually on Dec. 6.
A Calgary dentist who defrauded five insurance companies over a decade should spend up to three years in prison, the prosecution argued Friday.
B.C. Conservation Officer Service says it has called off its search for a bear responsible for an attack on a group of school children in Bella Coola, B.C. on Nov. 20.
The union president called it a rally for solidarity as Iqaluit Housing Authority employees gathered Friday while negotiations are ongoing between the Nunavut Employees Union and the employer.
The federal government is stoking Quebec separatism by walking back its climate commitments — including in its recent deal with Alberta — Liberal MP and former cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault says.
Four more Alberta MLAs are facing recall petitions organized by their constituents, including the first NDP representative to be caught in the province's ongoing wave of recall efforts.
Frank Gehry, the Canadian-born renegade architect behind some of the world's most recognizable buildings, has died at 96.
Hundreds of P.E.I. parents can't find child-care spaces, especially for infants. The provincial government says expanding those spots remains a top priority — and it recognizes the concern.
An Alberta judge says a referendum proposal on Alberta separating from Canada goes against Charter and and Treaty rights, in a decision given less than 24 hours after the provincial government introduced legislation that would have ended the court proceeding.
The architect of Alberta's politician recall legislation says it was never meant to be used as a political weapon, but as an "ultimate tool of accountability" if a politician engages in illegal or unethical behaviour.
The Government of Saskatchewan has introduced its long-promised involuntary treatment legislation on the final day of the fall sitting.
The Law Society of Ontario has suspended the licence of Deepak Paradkar, one of seven Canadians arrested in connection with alleged drug lord Ryan Wedding’s cocaine smuggling ring.