The Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce has released its report documenting its study on internal trade barriers, entitled “Tear Down These Walls: Dismantling Canada’s Internal Trade Barriers.”
The Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce has released its report documenting its study on internal trade barriers, entitled “Tear Down These Walls: Dismantling Canada’s Internal Trade Barriers.”
The report, released on June 14, 2016, makes seven recommendations to help reduce internal trade barriers and improve labour mobility in Canada. Engineers Canada was invited to provide testimony—both in person and in writing—to the Standing Committee during its study.
“Engineers Canada is proud to have participated in the development of this important report on Canada’s internal barriers to trade,” said Engineers Canada’s CEO Kim Allen, MBA, FEC, FCAE, P.Eng. “We’re encouraged that in their final report, the Standing Committee recognized the leadership and forward-thinking that Canada’s engineering profession has demonstrated in facilitating the labour mobility of engineers across provincial and territorial borders.”
The Standing Committee’s primary recommendation is to conclude the negotiations for a renewed Agreement on Internal Trade by July 1, 2017, which would greatly improve internal trade in Canada.
The report’s fourth recommendation is of particular interest to the engineering profession:
“That the federal government consult with professional regulatory bodies, including Engineers Canada, to identify ways in which it could assist these bodies in adopting mutual recognition. The transferability of education credentials and professional certifications among provinces/territories should be one focus.”
The Standing Committee’s report also highlights the ongoing efforts of the engineering regulators as a leading example of work being done to improve labour mobility across provincial/territorial borders. Also mentioned is Engineers Canada’s support for changes to federal privacy laws in order to make the sharing of information among provincial/territorial regulatory associations easier, which would result in more efficient approvals of out-of-province/-territory applications.
“We’re pleased that the Standing Committee incorporated Engineers Canada’s testimony into their final report and recommendations, and we look forward to continuing to engage with government and other regulated professions to improve the labour mobility of professionals from coast-to-coast-to-coast,” added Allen.
Read Engineers Canada’s testimony to the Standing Committee, provided by Katherine Sutherland, LL.B, FEC, P.Eng., Vice-President, Regulatory Affairs, here.
Questions or comments on Engineers Canada’s testimony to the Standing Committee can be directed to Joey Taylor, Practice Lead, Public Policy at Joey.Taylor@engineerscanada.ca.
