Doing business across provincial lines is starting to get easier but progress is slow, says the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
In a report released Tuesday, the CFIB says it’s important for provinces and the federal government to remove barriers to interprovincial trade to improve productivity and boost the economy.
It says the vast majority of small business owners want governments to prioritize removing barriers, while a little over half of those surveyed say they’re losing productivity because of multiple sets of regulations.
There has been some recent progress, including the federal government removing eight procurement exemptions to the Canadian Free Trade Agreement this year and committing to removing an additional six by year-end.
The federal government has also launched an internal trade data hub, while the government body tasked with implementing the Canadian Free Trade Agreement has set up an online portal for Canadians to identify potential regulatory barriers to trade.
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But the CFIB says there …