Ironically, as trade barriers among nations come down, such barriers between Canadian provinces are flourishing. That was the substance of a complaint contained in remarks by Monte Kwinter, Ontario's Minister of Industry, Trade and Technology, at a recent meeting of the Canadian Exporters' Association in Toronto.
Kwinter described the anomaly that "the Americans are going to have better access to our markets than Canadians are going to have to other provinces." He said that Ontario is the only province pushing for the dismantling of inter-provincial trade barriers. Each province "is trying to protect its own turf....but I think we have to come to terms with the fact that as we liberalize trade worldwide, surely we have to do the same thing provincially."
The minister conceded that Ontario was speaking from a position of strength, whereas other provinces fear a free trade arrangement may put them at a disadvantage. He nevertheless regretted that despite Ontario's prodding, little progress has been made by a committee of provincial and federal ministers established to find ways of lowering interprovincial barriers. These barriers include restrictions on the sale of beer and wine, on outside suppliers to local governments, building supplies and local product standards that discriminate against out-of-province goods. (The Financial Post, June 6, 1989)
Add Your Comments
Parents and teachers want children to have the skills to make a difference. But what can we teach to help them survive their teen years, 20s, and 30s with convictions and charac... 
Why do so many of us have to work where the windows don't open? Engineers, architects, and lawyers have their reasons, but must workplaces be less humane than homes? 
In Santa Ana in California prisoners can buy a cell upgrade. In Dallas, Texas, underachieving children are paid to read books. These are, alas, some of the saner and less offens... 
SIX QUESTIONS . . . The new culture I am making is an attempt to say hold still and look at this. 
Our culture does not know how to deal with legacies. We either treat the dead with some combination of awe and fear, or we think of our forebears as unworthy of remembrance, to ... If the salt loses its saltiness, if you as a writer only scratch the surface of the world instead of digging deeply into life on this earth,...
Harry Antonides is the founding editor of Comment. ... read more »