Premiers work together to strengthen Canada’s future prosperity
ST. JOHN’S, July 17, 2015
Focusing on economic productivity and innovation
Future economic growth and prosperity will require Canada’s economy to maintain and strengthen its competitiveness. Strong productivity and innovation are key drivers to competitiveness, and to promoting business growth and securing good jobs for Canadians.
Canada’s Premiers also recognize governments play a role in fostering an environment that encourages long-term commercial development and supports economic prosperity.
As a part of their economic agenda, Premiers today announced that Premiers Davis, Wynne, Couillard, MacLauchlan and Clark will lead a working group of ministers in the creation of an Economic Productivity and Innovation Working Group to identify opportunities to enhance productivity and innovation within the Canadian economy. This group will take stock of existing provincial and territorial approaches in order to identify areas of action to help close the gap between innovation and commercialization and in turn support economic growth and job creation.
Breaking down internal trade barriers
Today, Premiers announced progress on enhancing internal trade and investment. This includes signing a provincial-territorial protocol to help facilitate the mobility of apprentices in Canada and further enhance the conditions for economic growth across the country. The protocol will enable mutual recognition of technical training, work experience and associated exams for apprentices moving between jurisdictions for work, either permanently or temporarily, as well as establish clear, accessible, consistent and transparent mobility information for apprentices.
Premiers also announced the coming into force of an improved Person-to-Government dispute settlement process under the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT). The new dispute process includes the introduction of monetary penalties for non-compliance with panel reports. Creating a fairer and more transparent process for persons and firms to challenge regulatory practices when government measures are considered inconsistent with the AIT, will increase accountability and improve the flow of goods, services, investment and labour.
Premiers remain committed to an ambitious plan to address barriers in Canada and to complete a comprehensive renewal of the AIT by March 2016.
Premiers urged the federal government to reduce its own measures that limit or distort trade and investment in Canada and call upon the federal government to match Premiers’ level of ambition in taking action to modernize the AIT, reduce barriers and distortions, and ensure equal opportunity for all Canadians.
Premiers continue to encourage progress in areas that have historically been identified as irritants, such as trucking rules, corporate registration, and technical barriers to trade.