NEWS: Interprovincial Trade Challenges Highlight Halifax Productivity Session

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Canada’s Productivity Initiative: Halifax

Interprovincial trade barriers are a national issue that is particularly challenging to Atlantic Canada and dismantling them is a “low-cost, high-impact” way governments can address declining economic productivity, Dr. Trevor Tombe told a Halifax audience as part of Canada’s Productivity Initiative.

Reforming trade agreements between the provinces would boost productivity and reduce costs for consumers and businesses, Tombe, Director of Fiscal and Economic Policy at the School of Public Policy, said in the event Breaking Down Barriers: Unlocking Canada’s Economic Potential forum.

The one-day session at Halifax Convention Centre in early June was hosted by the School of Public Policy, the Halifax Partnership and the Public Policy Forum and attracted almost 200 attendees from business and government.

“Reducing internal trade barriers in Atlantic Canada is a low-cost, high-impact policy lever with the potential to significantly boost wages, productivity, and economic growth,” Tombe said, urging Nova Scotia to take the lead nationally.  “This is not just good policy for Atlantic Canada, it benefits the entire country.”

Other key speakers at the half-day event included Nova Scotia Finance Minister John Lohr, Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore, and Jeannine Ritchot, Assistant Deputy Minister, Multilateral Relations and Internal Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs, Government of Canada.

The Halifax session was the second of six across country the School is hosting this year to address the long-standing declines in Canada’s economic productivity.

For the session, Tombe wrote a research paper for the Public Policy Forum and an op-ed in the Financial Post to highlight the disproportionate impact interprovincial trade barriers have on the four Atlantic provinces.

More Coverage

For further coverage, see the below articles and commentary following Canada’s Productivity Initiative event in Halifax: