Minister Morneau statement following meeting of Committee on Internal Trade ministers

HALIFAX, May 29, 2019 /CNW/ - The Honourable Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance and acting Minister responsible for intergovernmental affairs and internal trade, issued the following statement after meeting provincial and territorial ministers at the Committee on Internal Trade meeting in Halifax:

"When goods can travel freely across Canada, Canadian consumers, workers and businesses all win.

"In today's meeting, I reiterated our commitment to working with provinces and territories to benefit all Canadians by reducing barriers to trade within Canada.

"I welcome the action plan adopted by the committee to enhance trade of alcoholic beverages in Canada, and the commitment by a majority of the committee members to assess the feasibility of direct-to-consumer alcohol sales. 

"This builds upon the recent action by the federal government to introduce legislation to eliminate the federal requirement that alcohol moving from one province to another must go through a provincial liquor authority.

"To encourage progress on this work, I indicated that the Government of Canada is willing to explore how it could help ensure that provinces and territories receive the appropriate revenue on direct-to-consumer alcohol sales.

"There is more to be done in areas beyond alcohol. That's why the work of the Regulatory Reconciliation and Cooperation Table is so important to our progress in addressing barriers to trade, investment and labour mobility within Canada.  

"The group is pushing ahead on its second work plan, and I am delighted to see how we can continue to help businesses grow and succeed, leading to a stronger economy and more jobs for the middle class.

"This work plan includes working to assure prompt payment for construction businesses, which will allow contractors and subcontractors to receive payments in a timely manner for their work on projects, saving on costs, time and paperwork.

"I look forward to our continued collaboration towards improving trade within our country."

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SOURCE Minister of Intergovernmental and Northern Affairs and Internal Trade