Canadian Finance Minister to Seek More Investment-Friendly Environment in Canada

Source: CanWest News Service--"Flaherty wants to tear down trade barriers inside Canada"

This fall, Canadian Finance Minister Flaherty will seek to streamline the rules that govern intra-Canadian trade. He voiced concerns that the current system, which is not based on any national standard but rather allows each province to set its own rules, serves to discourage new investment in Canada.

He implied that potential investors may not be not keen having to “deal with 13 regulators, 13 sets of fees, and 13 sets of rules—in a country that, after all, has less population than California.”

This position has met with some public resistance from the provinces who want to maintain their control over trade and therefore challenge the notion that Canada as a whole might benefit economically from, for example, a common securities regulator.

For discussion:

Is the commitment demonstrated by Canada and her provinces to this more pronounced version of what in the United States is called “federalism” out of step with, for example, the trend towards integration and harmonization demonstrated by the European Union?
Do you think Finance Minister Flaherty is correct in his assessment that Canada’s adherence to this system is hurting investment and therefore the Canadian economy as a whole?