Latest news with #Bill47
Winnipeg Free Press
01-07-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba sets example on trade: CFIB
Manitoba is maintaining its position as a national leader on internal trade, a new report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business finds. The keystone province received an 'A-' from the CFIB in its State of Internal Trade report, released Monday. Only Nova Scotia and Ontario scored higher, with each province earning an 'A.' (Manitoba had topped last year's list with an 'A-.') Ryan Mallough, CFIB vice-president of legislative affairs and communications, said, generally speaking, the organization has seen positive action across the country in the last year. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Chuck Davidson, president and CEO of Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, believes Manitoba is heading in the right direction with regards to internal trade. More progress has been made on removing trade barriers within Canada in the past six months than in eight years since the Canadian Free Trade Agreement was signed. 'This year's blown other years out of the water, in terms of progress,' Mallough said, noting the contentious trade relationship between Canada and the U.S. in recent months has given political urgency to internal trade. According to the CFIB, Manitoba sets a strong example by permitting direct-to-consumer alcohol shipments and through Bill 47, its new Fair Trade in Canada Act, which simplifies recognition of goods and services from other provinces. Manitoba has also signed agreements with Ontario and British Columbia to accelerate recognition of goods, services and professional credentials. Despite Manitoba's improvements, challenges remain, per a CFIB news release. Issues such as duplicate regulations, slow approval timelines and a lack of trade-enabling infrastructure continue to hamper the movement of goods, services and labour. The CFIB critiqued the Fair Trade in Canada Act for excluding labour mobility — a point echoed by Chuck Davidson, president of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce. The more provinces and territories do to make the rules that regulate workers consistent, the better, he said. Manitoba's position as an internal trade leader is 'a good sign,' Davidson said in response to the CFIB report. 'We're heading in the right direction.' Business, Mining, Trade and Job Creation Minister Jamie Moses said the province already has a labour mobility act, and addressing labour mobility in Bill 47 would have created red tape. 'Our bill is very much in line with breaking down barriers for Manitoba businesses to reach markets right across the country,' Moses said. Manitoba Progressive Conservative finance critic Lauren Stone was not available for comment Monday. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Looking ahead, Mallough said Manitoba can improve by implementing its mutual recognition legislation. Seven different jurisdictions in Canada are taking seven different approaches to mutual recognition, he added, so the CFIB is cautious in its optimism. The premiers and Prime Minister Mark Carney have instructed the Committee on Internal Trade to reach a pan-Canadian mutual recognition agreement for December — and the CFIB will be watching those conversations closely. 'Everybody seems to want to get this done and that's what has been the most encouraging over these last six months,' Mallough said. 'At the same time … we want to make sure we don't lose that political momentum. We have not crossed the goal line yet.' Aaron EppReporter Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. He was previously the associate editor at Canadian Mennonite. Read more about Aaron. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
25-06-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Trade-heavy Manitoba's GDP growth to slow in 2025: Deloitte
Manitoba will lag behind Canada in economic growth this year, a new report by Deloitte forecasts. The professional services firm predicts a 0.6 per cent increase in Manitoba's gross domestic product. Nationally, a 1.1 per cent gain in GDP is pegged in 2025. 'The (Manitoba) economy is very exposed to exports,' said Dawn Desjardins, chief economist at Deloitte Canada. 'And we are, at least at this stage, still operating in a very uncertain environment.' Deloitte has noticed a drop in private-sector investments, Desjardins said. Many companies have paused their growth plans as Canadian trade with the United States and China is wrought with tariffs and tension. The tariff landscape has changed rapidly over the past four months. Manitoba is a trade-heavy province, Desjardins noted. It saw $37.4 billion worth of trade with the United States last year, per Canadian Chamber of Commerce data. A reliance on trade has caused Deloitte to project Manitoba's GDP growth behind Alberta and Saskatchewan. Those Prairie provinces have forecasted GDP increases of 1.3 and 1.8 per cent, respectively. Prime Minister Mark Carney has called for free trade — or a complete reduction of interprovincial trade barriers — by Canada Day. Manitoba recently passed Bill 47 to mutually recognize goods and services of other jurisdictions with similar laws. Change to provincial economies won't come overnight, Desjardins stressed. She predicted five years must pass without interprovincial trade barriers before 'substantive increases' in GDP are seen. Further, some industries who have been protected by interprovincial trade barriers could suffer in the short term, Desjardins said. She didn't provide examples of such industries by print deadline. Desjardins shared a rosier outlook for 2026: 'We do think that the … Canadian economy will be doing better.' Leaders should have a better understanding of Canada's trading relationship interprovincially and with countries like the United States, she continued. The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on trade will be reviewed then; the United States' 'pain points' should be more clear, Desjardins said. Deloitte's latest economic outlook, released Wednesday, suggests Canada's GDP will grow 1.6 per cent in 2026. Gabrielle PichéReporter Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle. Every piece of reporting Gabrielle 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. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
06-06-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba, B.C. reach deal to boost interprovincial trade, Kinew says
Manitoba and British Columbia have agreed to break down interprovincial trade barriers, Premier Wab Kinew announced Friday. Kinew plans to sign a memorandum of understanding with the province, he said at a Manitoba Chambers of Commerce breakfast. It's the latest commitment by Manitoba in the leadup to Canada Day — Prime Minister Mark Carney's deadline for free trade across the country. 'Some of the biggest markets in Canada (are) open for business, and Manitoba is going to be able to cash in and do our part to build up Team Canada,' Kinew told a crowd of roughly 500 people. The provincial government recently passed Bill 47, which removes trade barriers for goods and services between Manitoba and reciprocating jurisdictions in Canada that have similar mutual recognition rules. The move will help manufacturers and food producers, among others, Business Minister Jamie Moses said earlier this week. For example, red tape on differing food package label requirements will be smoothed over. All paperwork on Bill 47 regulations will be completed by July 1, Kinew said. Trucking regulation harmonization across the country is ongoing, he said, adding Manitoba is working with Ottawa and other provinces. Nova Scotia has circled Manitoba as a mutually recognized province, Moses said Tuesday. Ontario, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick have introduced or passed similar legislation to Bill 47. Manitoba signed a memorandum of understanding with Ontario last month. The deal, meant to reduce interprovincial trade barriers, includes a focus on direct-to-consumer alcohol sales and improved labour mobility. Ontario is Canada's biggest market, Kinew noted Friday, adding he's 'bullish' on the opportunities Manitoba businesses will have. Gabrielle PichéReporter Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle. Every piece of reporting Gabrielle 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. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
05-06-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Freeing up trade and keeping workers safe
Opinion Over the last few months, we have heard a lot about the need to remove so-called interprovincial trade barriers, driven by political responses to the impacts of Donald Trump's trade threats and tariffs on the Canadian economy. Prime Minister Mark Carney has said he wants interprovincial trade barriers taken down by Canada Day. Here in Manitoba, the NDP government recently passed Bill 47, legislation that the government claims will free up interprovincial trade. While interprovincial trade barriers are clearly something that politicians of all political stripes are currently focused on, the actual evidence of barriers that exist is a bit murkier. When I talk with my business counterparts, I find they are often hard pressed to name many examples of specific interprovincial trade barriers that are interfering with trade between provinces. About a month ago, I had the opportunity to discuss the topic of interprovincial trade barriers with Loren Remillard, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, on a local radio station. The only example of an interprovincial trade barrier that he offered was that each province has individual rules for fall protection. We have all heard the lofty claims that removing interprovincial trade barriers will unleash billions in economic activity. But I fail to see how taking away a province's ability to set strong protections to keep workers from falling from roofs will unleash billions of dollars in economic activity. Removing interprovincial trade barriers should not be used as code for things that are not barriers at all, but important protections that keep workers safe — like setting high workplace health and safety standards. A healthy workforce is a more productive workforce, and governments should be doing all they can to keep workers safe and healthy on the job. Here in Manitoba, workers continue to suffer over 25,000 workplace-related injuries a year, demonstrating that there is a lot more work to do on workplace health and safety. When it comes to having common standards across the country, we should be striving to have the best standards, not the lowest. For example, look at Red Seal certification, something that unions have been major supporters of through training and apprenticeship programs. When someone is Red Seal certified, you know they are well trained, and you can trust the work they do. For trades workers, that Red Seal is a ticket to a good paying, family-supporting job, and it is recognized throughout our country, meaning you can work anywhere in Canada. Having Red Seal certification demonstrates that a worker has completed the highest standards of training. And the highest standards are something that we should all aspire to when it comes to our economy and our workforce. Our province's interprovincial trade legislation will enable Manitoba to identify jurisdictions in Canada as reciprocating jurisdictions, in effect treating that jurisdiction's standards as equal to Manitoba's when it comes to the sale of goods and services. It closely copies legislation that Ontario and Nova Scotia have introduced on the subject, and Premier Wab Kinew also signed an interprovincial trade MOU with Ontario a few weeks ago. But other recent action by Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government should give us pause on going full steam ahead with treating it as a reciprocating jurisdiction, no questions asked. Premier Ford is currently fast-tracking a controversial law to allow cabinet to identify 'special economic zones,' which could exempt any company or project in the zone from having to comply with whichever provincial laws, provincial regulations or municipal bylaws the government chooses. This would open the door for the Ontario government to declare that such things as Ontario's minimum wage rules or its environmental protections no longer apply within the designated zone, an extreme measure that exists nowhere else in Canada. As is often the case with vague notions like interprovincial trade barriers, the devil will be in the details of the Manitoba NDP government's interprovincial trade plans. And these details will only be addressed when the government makes untold numbers of regulatory changes now that Bill 47 has become law. But Manitoba's unions will do all that we can to ensure that Manitoba strikes the right balance regarding common sense trade reforms and the best interests of Manitoba workers. Kevin Rebeck is the president of the Manitoba Federation of Labour.
Winnipeg Free Press
04-06-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Bill 47 ‘way to start the conversation'
Manitoba business leaders are touting a new interprovincial trade bill as a 'positive first step' — albeit one lacking details and key changes they've called for. Bill 47 was passed in the Manitoba legislature on Monday. The bill allows for mutual recognition of goods and services with other jurisdictions who have similar laws. It comes less than a month ahead of Prime Minister Mark Carney's deadline; he wants free internal trade by Canada Day. Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun A line of semi trailers sit parked along the Trans-Canada Highway during a winter road closure. Trucking sector disparities between the provinces are top of mind for many in the move to break down interprovincial trade barriers. 'The last thing we need is trade barriers within our own country when we have them with the rest of the world,' said Bram Strain, president of the Business Council of Manitoba. He deemed the greenlighting of Bill 47 a 'very positive first step.' The bill should affect regulations unnoticed by the average shopper. For example, Manitoba will acknowledge other provinces' food label standards when importing products and vice versa. Such interactions will follow mutual recognition deals between jurisdictions. Trucking sector disparities are top of mind for some. There are information gaps — such as different systems to check a company's history — and inconsistent vehicle and driver regulations. Such variation can be costly to trucking companies; and that cost may be downloaded onto farmers, said Colin Hornby, general manager of the Keystone Agricultural Producers. Retailers, hospitality groups and others shipping goods will benefit from more efficient trucking, Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce president Loren Remillard added. The Manitoba Trucking Association plans to meet with provincial officials about Bill 47's impact. 'We need to work together, because having different standards is challenging,' said Aaron Dolyniuk, MTA executive director. 'What we need to do is harmonize up to a consistently high standard, so that the integrity of safety in the trucking industry is not compromised.' Manitoba is working with Ottawa on smoothing out trucking regulations nationwide, said provincial Economic Development, Investment and Trade Minister Jamie Moses. He spoke to federal Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland on the topic last week. (Manitoba recently changed its semi-truck logo requirements to align with other provinces; it was previously an outlier, requiring a minimum width requirement for letter size.) In general, breaking down interprovincial barriers should reduce prices for Canadians, said Remillard. 'It costs (businesses) less, and they pass that cost on to the consumer.' If Manitoba signed mutual agreements with every province, Canada's GDP could grow $26.8 billion, the Montreal Economic Institute projected. Nova Scotia has circled Manitoba as a mutually recognized province, Moses said. Ontario, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick have also introduced or passed similar legislation. Manitoba signed a memorandum of understanding with Ontario last month; the deal includes better direct-to-consumer alcohol sales and labour mobility. Hornby, who's among Premier Wab Kinew's private-sector advisers, considers Bill 47 'a way to start the conversation with all the provinces.' He and others, including the Opposition Progressive Conservatives, stressed a need for more mutual recognition of professional certifications. Health-care staff, veterinarians and lawyers are among the workers business leaders cited. Bill 47 doesn't apply to occupations covered by the Labour Mobility Act and Fair Registration Practices in Regulated Professions Act to avoid duplication, Moses said. He's working with federal, provincial and territorial governments on a service standard for credential recognition throughout Canada, he added. Another Bill 47 carve out: it doesn't apply to goods and services from Crown corporations. Alcohol retailers won't have easier access to other provinces' liquor store shelves, noted Kevin Selch, founder of Little Brown Jug Brewing Co. in Winnipeg. 'The LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) is a bit of a beast to access,' he said. The LCBO is one of the biggest liquor buyers globally. If Manitoba lowers its markup rates, local craft brewers would be more competitive and have a 'better home court advantage,' offering lower prices and possibly saving money for marketing elsewhere, Selch added. 'We don't want to privatize Manitoba Hydro or MPI and our Crown corporations,' Moses said when asked about the exemption. The province is focused on direct-to-consumer alcohol sales, Moses added. Brewers have been critical, saying Ontario residents and others won't ship a flat of beer to their homes. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Manitoba Federation of Labour president Kevin Rebeck said he's watching new deals between provinces 'cautiously.' He fears a 'race to the bottom' on health and safety standards in pursuit of economic activity. 'Worker safety needs to be paramount,' Rebeck said. 'That shouldn't be sacrificed or recognized as a barrier.' Other provinces care about their citizens' safety; mutual recognition shouldn't be viewed as an unsafe practice, Remillard said. Gabrielle PichéReporter Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle. Every piece of reporting Gabrielle 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. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
