Roundup: Cautious optimism on trade barriers

Posted on by

Anita Anand told reporters yesterday that she is making progress with provinces when it comes to eliminating interprovincial trade barriers, which sounds great. In fact, she claims that some of those barriers could be “wiped away” in the next thirty days. It would be great news if that’s true, but I have my doubts because these barriers are incredibly difficult to harmonise around the country, and they’re mostly differing regulations, which are perfectly valid exercise of provincial powers. They’re extremely difficult to harmonize because sometimes they differ for a reason. Kevin Milligan explains in this thread if you click through. (He also throws cold water on the notion that we could or should join the EU).

I have to say that I am very curious regarding the method by which Anand is securing these changes, because I have heard no chatter about provinces being willing to surrender some of their provincial sovereignty in order to eliminate some of these barriers. I have also heard nothing about any kind of common regulatory body that could make determinations and that the provinces would adhere to, because they’ve all eschewed a common securities regulator, which should be low-hanging fruit for regulatory harmonisation, and yet… That would seem to imply that they have been establishing some sort of framework around mutual recognition of standards or credentials, but as of yet we have no real details.

The other note of caution I would make is that even if these barriers were reduced or eliminated, it would take time to reorient supply chains east-to-west rather than north-to-south, so there would be no immediate cushioning effect from any Trump tariffs. People will need to have realistic expectations about what this will achieve, particularly in the short-to-medium term.

Ukraine Dispatch

Ukraine is blaming an explosion at a draft office in Khmelnytskyi region that killed one person and wounded several others as a series of Russian spies orchestrating attacks. 150 Ukrainian POWs were returned in a prisoner swap with Russia. Here are some of the details about how Ukrainians captured two North Korean soldiers fighting in Kursk region. Ukrainians are also noting a marked improvement in the accuracy of North Korean missiles fired at Ukraine.

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau announced that he will be holding a Canada-US economic summit in Toronto on Friday to help build a long-term prosperity agenda.
  • Bill Blair says that we can avoid tariffs if we can demonstrate progress on the border, and it’s so cute that he seems to actually believe that.
  • Arif Virani says he is down to 31 judicial vacancies left to fill, meaning he has appointed judges at the fastest pace in Canadian history.
  • Anita Anand announced $25 million to make the Port of Halifax greener and more efficient, which includes facilities for alternative fuels.
  • The government ended their ban on advertising on Meta products in order to promote their stupid HST “holiday,” which makes it all the greasier.
  • Former Clerk of the Privy Council, Michael Wernick, says that reducing the size of the civil service by attrition is the worst way to do it, and it will lower productivity.
  • There is a sense that the new Miscarriage of Justice Review Commission will probably hear a lot more wrongful conviction cases than initially anticipated.
  • Trump’s tariff plan includes removing the $800 de minimis exemption for duties of goods crossing the border, making crossings more costly.
  • California builders say they have little choice but to use Canadian lumber in spite of tariffs (even before the additional ones Trump is threatening).
  • Mark Carney was promising a tax cut and increased defence spending, while Chrystia Freeland outlined a ten-point plan to shore up the economy.
  • Pierre Poilievre wants life sentences for anyone who traffics more than 40mg of fentanyl, and claims a wholly bullshit Charter argument to justify it.
  • Conservatives are conducting internal surveys to figure out how to best pivot now that Trudeau and the carbon levy are no longer going to be targets.
  • Lori Idlout wants the Inuit Child First Initiative funding renewed. Patty Hajdu’s office says that depends on whether those upcoming supply votes pass. (Hint).
  • A former Ford staffer is being sued by a property developer who said he was promised use of back channels in exchange for “discreet payments.”
  • It looks like the head of Alberta Health Services was fired as she was prepared to go to the Auditor General with concerns about procurement and political interference.

Odds and ends:

https://twitter.com/OurCommons/status/1887200173392048485

Want more Routine Proceedings? Become a patron and get exclusive new content.