Canadian Free Trade Agreement: Regulatory Reconciliation and Cooperation Table

Regulatory Reconciliation and Cooperation Table

The Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) established the Regulatory Reconciliation and Cooperation Table (RCT), a federal-provincial-territorial body that:

  • oversees the process to align regulatory frameworks across all jurisdictions
  • reduces barriers to trade, investment, and labour mobility within Canada

The table also promotes cooperation in the development of future regulations to:

  • avoid regulatory divergences
  • facilitate innovation and growth in emerging industries
  • streamline approval processes
  • reduce administrative burden for Canadian businesses

Learn more about regulatory reconciliation (PDF, 47 KB).

Annual reports and workplans

Annual reports

The RCT produces an annual report outlining new items for resolution, the resulting agreements, lessons learned, and plans for the year ahead.

Work plans

  • 2023 RCT work plan (PDF, 278 KB): continues work in areas such as personal protective equipment, occupational exposure limits, electrical codes, meat inspection, energy efficient products, labour mobility, and the sale or provision of goods and services.
  • 2021-22 RCT work plan (PDF, 278 KB): continues work in relevant areas such as occupational health and safety, personal protective equipment, truck driver electronic logging devices, energy efficient products, and autonomous vehicles and introduced items focused on emergency labour mobility and the sale or provision of goods and services.
  • 2020-21 RCT work plan (PDF, 268 KB): introduced items focused on energy efficient products, personal protective equipment, electrical codes, and building officials/inspectors certification/licensing.
  • 2019-20 RCT work plan (PDF, 336 KB): introduced items on upholstered and stuffed goods, national licenses for gas fitters, prompt payment in construction, mandatory entry-level training for truck driver certification, and autonomous vehicle testing.
  • 2018 RCT work plan (PDF, 158 KB): The first workplan developed under the RCT identifies items for resolution.

Learn more about the RCT’s completed workplan items.

Report a regulatory barrier

The RCT values stakeholder input and routinely engages key actors in regulated industries within Canada.

If you have encountered a barrier to trade in Canada:

Consultations

Input from stakeholders was recently sought through the Breaking down inter-jurisdictional regulatory barriers project in the Let’s Talk Federal Regulations online engagement platform. Visit the What We Heard report for more information on input that was received through the consultation.

On social media

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