Progress Enhancing Trade Within Canada

The Government of Canada has taken action in collaboration with the provinces and territories to boost competitiveness and facilitate internal and external trade, while maintaining the safety of Canadians and protecting the environment.

Among the progress that has been taken:

• National Building, Fire and Plumbing Codes and the Energy Code for Buildings, as well as the Provincial Codes produced and distributed by the National Research Council, are now available for free in electronic format. This helps boost the construction industry and keep Canadians safe. The number of electronic downloads has soared to about 450 a day from 20 a day previously.
• The introduction of Safe Food for Canadians Regulations reduced the unnecessary administrative burden on businesses by replacing 14 sets of regulations with one, while focusing on prevention.
• The scope of products that can be labelled as certified “organic” was broadened to include aquaculture, promoting trade within Canada.
• Amendments to the federal Energy Efficiency Regulations (here and here) have increased energy efficiency on a number of appliances and equipment to provide energy savings for Canadians while taking advantage of opportunities to align with other jurisdictions. The federal government is working with provinces and territories to align energy efficiency regulations for household appliances within Canada.
• The definition of what can be used to make vodka was widened, allowing vodka producers to be more innovative and boosting their ability to compete domestically and globally by creating new vodkas. The beer standardwas also updated to allow for greater innovation in that industry.
• Regulations were modernized for the protection of head, eyes, face and feet and for personal flotation devices. The Government of Canada is working with the provinces and territories to allow businesses to work more seamlessly across jurisdictions without compromising health and safety protections for workers.
• The only remaining federal barrier to trade in alcoholic beverages within Canada was eliminated by amending the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act.
• The first Annual Regulatory Modernization Act passed, reducing unnecessary regulatory burden and developing a more modern, agile regulatory framework.
• Parliament passed prompt payment legislation to improve the timeliness of payments for federal construction contracts, part of a plan to align with the provinces and territories.
• New federal standards for electronic logging devices were announced to replace paper logs for federally regulated truckers and bus drivers. These standards are aligned with the United States, delivering administrative cost savings, as well as safety and competitive benefits, without introducing any impediments to trade.
• Fuel will be saved and emissions reduced as the result of a federal-provincial-territorial agreement to harmonize the weight limits on truck tires. Once implemented, it will allow trucks to use more efficient wide-base single tires at the same weight as double tires.
• The Timber Marking Act was repealed to remove outdated and discriminatory timber marking requirements.

The Government of Canada also launched consultations with Canadians on important changes to the food labelling system:

• Clarifying the guidelines for “Product of Canada” or “Made in Canada” claims, which will help consumers identify Canadian food products and avoid fragmentation caused by differences between federal and provincial guidelines.
• Modernizing labelling requirements to make it easier to sell food products across Canada and abroad. For example, it would remove outdated container size requirements.