It would have been enough for Canada’s Senate to issue a condemnation of interprovincial barriers to trade, and to criticize Canadian and provincial government foot-dragging on the issue. Convoluted legal rules preventing Canadians from different provinces from engaging in voluntary trade with each other are just as wrongheaded and harmful as their international counterparts. But the Senate went one better last week and openly mocked this country’s internal trade barriers.
First of all, the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce report is provocatively titled “Tear Down These Walls: Dismantling Canada’s Internal Trade Barriers.” And while there’s lots of basic information in there, like the cost to the Canadian economy in lost trade opportunities (up to $130 billion a year) and the missed deadline for negotiating a renewed Agreement on Internal Trade (March 2016), the real kicker is a list of “Top 10 Weirdest Barriers to Trade.” The list features such whimsical items as:
These and other restrictions are examples of protectionism plain and simple, helping certain producers by hurting all of us as consumers. As Committee Chair David Tkachuk put it, “Canadians should be able to live, practice their profession or trade, purchase goods and services freely and without penalty anywhere in this great country as a right.” Let’s hope the rest of the government gets the message.
- The Grapes of Wrath (restrictions on direct-to-consumer wine shipments)
- The Cheese Police (un-brie-lievable!)
- An Ale-ing System (differing beer bottle size standards)
- A Sticky Situation (differing standards for maple syrup grades)
These and other restrictions are examples of protectionism plain and simple, helping certain producers by hurting all of us as consumers. As Committee Chair David Tkachuk put it, “Canadians should be able to live, practice their profession or trade, purchase goods and services freely and without penalty anywhere in this great country as a right.” Let’s hope the rest of the government gets the message.