Where is the promised removal of inter-provincial trade barriers? Time to step-up pressure!

When I started this petition a year ago, there was a lot of momentum to remove inter-provincial trade barriers. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce recently published a paper noting that little progress has been made on really important barriers such as mutual recognition of credentials and distinct regulatory requirements that impact trade.
There was some progress but it has since halted due to entrenched interests and protectionism. We still have barriers that mount to a 7% inter-provincial tariff and we need far more ambitious and timely action! Please consider sending a letter to your MPP to demand such action. I have provided a template for you to use, see below. Please also share this petition within your network and get the word out.

TEMPLATE LETTER TO MPP

How to use this template Replace everything in [square brackets] with your own details, then delete this note before sending.

Note on titles: Your provincial/territorial representative's title depends on where you live — MPP (Ontario), MNA (Quebec), MHA (Newfoundland and Labrador), and MLA (all other provinces and territories). Use the correct one in the greeting. You can find your representative and their constituency office address on your provincial legislature's website.

 
[Your Full Name] [Your Street Address] [City, Province, Postal Code] [Your Email] · [Your Phone Number]

[Date]

[Representative's Full Name], [MPP / MLA / MNA / MHA] [Constituency / Riding Name] [Constituency Office Address] [City, Province, Postal Code]

Re: A demand for more ambitious and timely action to eliminate Canada's internal trade barriers

Dear [Mr. / Ms. / Hon.] [Representative's Last Name],

I am writing to you as a constituent in [Riding / Constituency Name] to insist — clearly and without qualification — that you and your government move with far greater urgency and ambition to dismantle the barriers that still obstruct the free movement of goods, services, and workers between Canada's provinces and territories.

For decades these barriers have been studied, lamented, and tinkered with, while meaningful reform has been delayed by entrenched interests that benefit from the status quo. That is no longer acceptable. While Ontario has made progress through agreements with specific provinces, there remain far too many barriers. The economic case for action is overwhelming, and the political excuses for inaction have run out.

Australia achieved the same goal of removing interprovincial barriers related to mutual recognition of credentials in 1992 with a 17-page Mutual Recognition Act that simply declared that goods and workers approved in one jurisdiction may move freely to another. Why have we not achieved this in the year provincial governments have been working on the issue? Canada does not lack a model. It is not ‘complicated’. It lacks the political will.

I am therefore calling on you and your government to put aside the entrenched and protectionist interests standing in the way of progress, and to commit to bold, time-bound action on the following:

Mutual recognition as the default rule. Adopt the principle that goods, services, and professional credentials lawfully approved or licensed in any province or territory are automatically accepted in ours — shifting the burden onto governments to justify any exception, rather than onto businesses and workers to overcome them.
Full recognition of professional and trade credentials. End the delays and duplicative requirements that prevent doctors, nurses, skilled tradespeople, engineers, and other qualified workers from practising across provincial lines. Labour mobility should be seamless and immediate.
A hard review of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement. Aggressively reduce the list of exemptions, extend coverage to all sectors and all government entities (including ministries, Crown corporations, and municipalities), and remove the carve-outs that hollow out the agreement's purpose.
A dispute-resolution mechanism with real teeth. Give individuals and businesses access to binding, enforceable rulings and financial penalties that genuinely reflect the billions of dollars at stake — not the token amounts that make non-compliance the cheaper option.
Elimination of the remaining non-tariff barriers. This includes the long-standing constraints on the interprovincial sale and shipment of wine, beer, and spirits, the harmonization of transportation and trucking regulations, and the alignment of food-safety and product standards that currently keep Canadian products off Canadian shelves.
I want to be direct: I am not asking for another committee, another framework, or another agreement studded with exceptions. I am asking for measurable results on a public timeline, and for the leadership to confront the interests that have blocked reform for far too long.

I would appreciate a written response setting out the specific actions you and your government will take, and the timeline on which you will take them. Please consider my support — and my vote — to be tied to genuine, ambitious progress on this issue.

I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

[Your Full Name] [Your Riding / Constituency Name]