Canada Signs Mutual Recognition Deal for Interprovincial Trade

Canada's provinces, territories and federal government have signed a landmark agreement to streamline interprovincial trade, allowing most goods approved in one jurisdiction to be sold nationwide without additional approvals. The Canadian Mutual Recognition Agreement was finalized Wednesday in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, by the country's trade ministers, with British Columbia leading the initiative.

The deal, announced Thursday by Ravi Kahlon, British Columbia's minister of jobs, economic development and innovation, in Victoria, takes effect in December. It applies to tens of thousands of products, including clothing, toys, vehicles, tires, manufacturing inputs and health technologies, but excludes food, beverages, tobacco, plants and animals. Under the agreement's core principle, if a product meets legal standards for sale in one province or territory, it can be sold in others without duplicative testing, certification or paperwork. Exceptions will be clearly listed, and the pact does not alter licensing, age restrictions or seller qualifications, nor does it limit governments' abilities to enforce health, safety or environmental regulations.