NDP asks Tories to co-operate on passage of interprovincial trade bill before next week's summer break
'Bill 47 is critical to Manitoba to respond to tariffs introduced by the (U.S. President Donald) Trump administration,' says a letter Nahanni Fontaine sent today to Opposition house leader Derek Johnson.
Bill 47, the Fair Trade in Canada (Internal Trade Mutual Recognition) Act and the Buy Manitoba, Buy Canadian Day Act was introduced Thursday, past the deadline for bills to be guaranteed passage before the house rises on Monday.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES
House leader Nahanni Fontaine urged the Opposition Tories to support the NDP government's interprovincial trade legislation before the legislature breaks for the summer.
'We must act swiftly to protect Manitoba jobs and our economy,' says Fontaine's letter, which was shared with the Free Press.
'Let's demonstrate together this assembly will meet this historic moment and deliver meaningful action on behalf of all Manitobans.'
Johnson and the PC caucus didn't immediately respond when asked if they'd support the speedy passage of the government bill.
The Manitoba legislative assembly has been bitterly divided on most issues with speaker Tom Lindsay repeatedly calling for decorum on both sides of the house.
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Trade Minister Jamie Moses told the legislative assembly last week that Bill 47 aims to increase the flow of goods, services and investments between Manitoba and the rest of the country.
It gives Manitoba the power to designate another province or territory that takes similar steps to remove barriers to trade as a 'reciprocating jurisdiction.'
ALEX LUPUL / FREE PRESS FILES
Fontaine sent the letter to Opposition House Leader Derek Johnson on Monday.
Another region's products will be treated as if they have met local certification, testing and quality standards under the proposed legislation, and will not be subject to additional approval requirements and related fees. Out-of-province services will also be exempt from related red tape.
The government wants the bill passed before the house rises next Monday and doesn't return until Oct. 1. Canada's first ministers — including Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew — are to meet in Saskatoon next Monday with Prime Minister Mark Carney. Carney has said he wants an interprovincial free trade deal done in time for Canada Day, July 1.
carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
Carol SandersLegislature reporter
Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol.
Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
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