How different product labelling rules hurt internal trade in Canada

The U.S. tariff threat has put a renewed focus on internal trade in Canada, Some legal experts say different product labelling rules pose interprovincial barriers.

The threat of U.S. tariffs has put a renewed focus on easing internal trade in Canada, and some legal experts say different product labelling and packaging rules pose a big barrier.

Canada’s Committee on Internal Trade is set to meet again on Friday to discuss ways to open up trade between provinces and territories.

This comes as U.S. President Donald Trump is poised to impose sweeping 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian goods next week.

Among the measures the committee is seeking to act on is the “removal of regulatory and administrative barriers to the movement of goods in Canada.”

When it comes to packing and labelling products, there’s a “split authority” in Canada.

There are regulations from the federal government and provincial add-ons that create hurdles moving goods from one province to another, said Robert Kreklewetz, managing partner at Millar Kreklewetz LLP, a Toront0-based law firm that specializes in customs and trade.

“The current system that we have where you’ve got federal government implementing certain rules, provincial governments implementing their own rules, and it becomes a bit of a dog’s breakfast for trying to trade interprovincially in many goods and services that we have in Canada,” he said.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is the main federal authority that regulates how food products are labelled and packaged across the country.