Should the provinces and federal government start working together to eliminate interprovincial trade barriers?

Poll: Interprovincial trade

Photo: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

B.C. Premier David Eby speaks to reporters from his office following the throne speech at the B.C. Legislature in Victoria Feb. 18.

British Columbia Premier David Eby says provinces and territories "need to start acting like a country" on trade and he's willing to enter bilateral agreements with other jurisdictions if the federal government can't get an agreement.

Eby says his government could enter a "coalition of the willing" with other provinces to recognize each others regimes for trade and professions, and if a product is good enough to be sold in one area, then it's good enough for B.C.

He says the premiers spoke with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today about trade and many other issues around the threat of American tariffs.

The uncertainty created by U.S. President Donald Trump around the tariffs is destabilizing on its own, something that Eby says is a deliberate strategy by the Americans to weaken Canada and reduce the likelihood that people will invest in the country.

He says that's why, with or without tariffs, the plan will be the same; to redouble all efforts to diversify away from the United States and find new customers for B.C. goods.

Eby says he also raised the idea of taxing thermal coal that comes in by rail from the United States to be shipped out of B.C.'s Deltaport, as first suggested by the B.C. Conservatives.

"We need to be all hands on deck on this. We shouldn't be divided at the provincial level, at the federal level. If there are things that we can do to respond to the Americans, we should do it. If there are things we can do to strengthen our economy and diversify our markets we're going to do it."

On Tuesday, Nova Scotia's government introduced a bill aimed at reducing interprovincial trade barriers, with provisions only to be extended to provinces or territories with similar legislation.

Eby said his government was also looking at tabling such legislation, and the B.C. public service had reached out to Nova Scotia to understand its bill's content.