A new report released by the Senate highlights 10 seemingly contradictory or nonsensical rules that are hampering trade between Canada's provinces, including restrictions on food and alcohol, and limitations on when transport trucks can use the highway.
If left unaddressed, these "weird barriers to trade" could negatively impact Canada's gross domestic product by $50-130 billion, according to the report titled "Tear Down These Walls: Dismantling Canada's Internal Trade Barriers."
1 and 2: Border irritation for truckers
The report highlighted two restrictions that pertain to Canada's trucking industry, which make it a chore for some truckers to cross between certain provinces.
In B.C., certain transport trucks are only allowed to use the road at night, while in neighbouring Alberta, those same trucks are only permitted to drive in daylight.
The Senate report also points out that some provinces place restrictions on the use of high-tech, fuel-efficient tires, so drivers have to stop at the border and swap out their wheels before they enter certain provinces.
3 and 4: Container size matters
Slight differences in the standard size of a bottle of beer or a container of milk can mean huge extra costs for the industries involved. As the Senate report points out, beer brewers aiming to sell their product country-wide have to run parallel bottling systems to meet the different provincial requirements. Dairy farmers also feel the pressure to create duplicate production streams, as size guidelines vary for creamer and milk containers.
5 and 6: Not-so-standard food standards
Certain food items have different standards from province to province. Maple syrup, for instance, is held to a different food quality standard by the federal and various provincial and territorial governments. Organic food standards also differ from province to province.
7: Cross-border cheese
Quebec is well-known for its high-quality cheese production, but many Canadians can't get their hands on an unpasteurized cheese from the province, unless they go there themselves. Quebec manufacturers are not allowed to ship unpasteurized cheeses out of the province, as the Senate report points out.
8: Provincial wine monopoly
B.C., Manitoba and Nova Scotia are the only provinces to allow direct-to-consumer wine shipments, while the rest of Canadians are left with little choice but to buy their wine from a provincial outlet at a high markup.
9 and 10: National businesses; provincial problems
The Senate report suggests many national businesses are hampered by a requirement to register in each province in which they operate. It also highlights the challenge some manufacturers face with the disparity between provincial carbon emission rules.
In B.C. and Alberta, for instance, polluters have to pay a carbon tax, while businesses in Quebec and Ontario (and soon, Manitoba) use a cap-and-trade system. The Senate says the difference makes it more costly for large businesses to operate in more than one jurisdiction.
