Canada’s Conservatives Urge Government Action Following Supreme Court’s Interprovincial Trade Decision

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OTTAWA, ON – John Nater, Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Interprovincial Trade and the Sharing Economy and Member of Parliament for Perth—Wellington, today issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Her Majesty the Queen v. Gerard Comeau:

“Given the Supreme Court’s decision, it is now more important than ever for Prime Minister Trudeau to renegotiate the Liberals’ inadequate Canadian Free Trade Agreement. The current agreement contains pages of exemptions and creates secretive working groups, but fails to adequately address interprovincial trade barriers.

“Canadians recognize the economic benefits of reducing interprovincial trade barriers. It should not be illegal to work or to transport legal products across provincial lines.

“It is extremely disappointing that the Trudeau Liberals have failed to take a strong stand against barriers to interprovincial trade in the Comeau Case. Local businesses and their customers stood to benefit significantly from the outcome of this case. A study done by the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce found that internal trade barriers reduce Canada’s gross domestic product by between $50 billion and $130 billion.

“Canada’s Conservatives will continue to advocate for reduced interprovincial trade barriers and free trade within Canada.”