Even parts of the P.E.I. government say we're moving to eliminate trade barriers too quickly

Kerry Campbell · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 20, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

As the P.E.I. authorities moves afloat steam up toward an statement to trim commercialized barriers and amended labour mobility with Nova Scotia, Ontario and immoderate different provinces that privation to join, determination are entreaties for the state to dilatory down — including from wrong the P.E.I. authorities itself.

Premier Rob Lantz tabled a measure connected April 11 modelled connected akin authorities precocious enacted successful Nova Scotia.

The extremity is to person participating provinces enact laws to admit each others' regulations, standards and accreditation programs to destruct commercialized barriers and beforehand labour mobility.

But nonrecreational associations and different groups consulted by the P.E.I. authorities successful the lead-up to tabling its authorities complained the state was moving excessively rapidly and cautioned astir imaginable unintended consequences from the effort that could enactment the nationalist astatine risk.

One of the complaints came from the manager of the province's Financial and Consumer Services Division, according to emails that Lantz tabled successful the legislature connected April 16.

"It is unfortunate the part was not made alert of this parallel legislative initiative," Steve Dowling wrote successful an April 4 email to unit with the Department of Workforce and Advance Learning.

The section sent retired consultation drafts of the authorities connected the day of Monday, March 31, asking groups to supply feedback during either of 2 sessions scheduled 2 days later.

"The three-day model accorded to the part to reappraisal and respond to the projected enactment contrasts importantly with our extensive, proactive and collaborative enactment with you" connected parallel efforts to trim commercialized barriers nether the Canada Free Trade Agreement, Dowling wrote.

Ultimately Dowling suggested his colleagues behaviour further consultation and hold for much provinces to enactment guardant akin authorities truthful that P.E.I. could larn from their work.

Ontario tabled its measure connected interprovincial commercialized barriers connected April 16.

Nova Scotia measure had to beryllium changed

The archetypal measure enactment guardant successful Nova Scotia by the Tim Houston government required important amendments aft regulatory bodies raised concerns astir unintended consequences that could enactment nationalist information astatine risk.

Groups including the Nova Scotia Veterinary Medical Association said the archetypal authorities would person removed their quality to show who was practising successful the province, and permission them incapable to observe radical posing arsenic regulated professionals.

Similar concerns were raised during P.E.I.'s consultation process.

The registrar of the P.E.I. Veterinary Medical Association, Dr. Jessie MacQuarrie, told the state the projected authorities would permission the relation with nary quality to supply oversight oregon "impose restrictions oregon suspensions against veterinarians from reciprocating jurisdictions, nary substance however egregious the offence."

MacQuarrie besides said the deficiency of a request successful the authorities that accredited individuals besides enactment from an accredited installation would mean that radical "could prosecute successful the signifier of veterinary medicine from the backmost of a conveyance successful a parking lot."

She asked that her radical beryllium included arsenic an excluded regulatory authorization nether the act.

The authorities includes circumstantial exclusions for wellness professions that autumn nether the Regulated Health Professions Act (which does not see veterinarians) and for the Law Society of P.E.I.

Other professions tin beryllium excluded from the enactment erstwhile regulations are developed applying to it down the road.

Additional nonrecreational groups that asked to beryllium excluded from the caller instrumentality see Island psychologists, teachers, engineers, societal workers, chartered nonrecreational accountants and onshore surveyors. 

• P.E.I.'s lawman curate of Housing, Land and Communities, Jamie MacDonald, advised authorities to bounds the designation of credentials for elevator installers from different provinces.
• The P.E.I. College of Pharmacy warned of a imaginable loophole that could let a idiosyncratic with an outstanding transgression complaint practise connected the Island by providing impervious of an outdated transgression records check.
• The Canadian Labour Congress pointed to probe suggesting accrued labour mobility could pb to workers leaving 1 jurisdiction successful hunt of amended wages successful another.
• The P.E.I. Association of Social Workers raised concerns that the measure could make a vacuum of nonrecreational accountability, warning that if "an idiosyncratic (service user, client, oregon patient) experiences harm owed to this legislation, determination whitethorn not beryllium recourse for the individual."
• Several groups including the P.E.I. Department of Justice said they would conflict to conscionable the request successful the measure that certifications for professionals from different jurisdictions beryllium provided wrong 10 concern days.

Trying to velocity up progress: Lantz

On Wednesday successful the legislature, the Liberals and Greens filed a associated question asking for the authorities to beryllium sent to committee for further review. The PCs denied the unanimous consent required to fto that question beryllium debated the aforesaid time it was tabled.

During question period, Lantz defended comments helium had made previously, that the measure represents a "quick and dirty" effort to trim barriers to commercialized with different provinces.

"People successful our presumption person struggled for decades to marque immoderate advancement connected this, due to the fact that it was approached from the position chiefly of trying to harmonize regulations and laws crossed jurisdictions," Lantz said. "This is simply a elemental attack of communal designation that volition beforehand escaped commercialized crossed this state successful the simplest mode imaginable and the quickest mode possible."

Lantz has said helium wants the instrumentality to beryllium successful spot by July 1, the day acceptable by Prime Minister Mark Carney to person freer commercialized betwixt the provinces and territories aft gathering with archetypal ministers successful March.