Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act – Stakeholder Feedback

The Government of Canada is seeking feedback from interested parties to support the development of regulations under the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act. The government is consulting with Canadian industry, businesses, and labour representatives who are or indirectly impacted by the changes being brought forward by the Act.

Both regional and national consultations will be held in August 2025, to help inform key elements of the regulations.

Feedback guide for interested parties:

• Information about the Act
• Questions to guide input from interested parties
• How to provide input
• Frequently asked questions about the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act

Information about the Act

Goods and services

The Act provides a framework to substantially reduce the burden of federal rules that apply to trade across provincial and territorial borders. This means that a good or service produced, used, or distributed in line with the requirements of a province or territory is recognized as meeting comparable federal requirements that pertain to interprovincial trade. The federal requirement remains in place but would be considered satisfied if the comparable provincial or territorial requirement has already been met.

A requirement on goods or services falls within scope of the Act when it meets two criteria:

• the federal requirement pertains to a good or service that is also subject to a provincial or territorial requirement, and
• the federal requirement pertains to interprovincial movement of goods or the interprovincial provision of services.

Federal requirements that apply generally to goods and services are not included in the scope of this legislation. The federal requirement must apply specifically to the interprovincial movement of goods or the interprovincial provision of services.

For federal requirements that are in-scope, the next step is to determine whether the federal requirement is comparable to the provincial or territorial requirement. Requirements will be comparable if they are in respect of the same aspect or element of the good and they are intended to achieve a similar objective.

Where all the above criteria are met, a business that complies with the provincial or territorial requirement will be considered to also comply with the federal requirement, reducing regulatory burden and making it easier to trade across the country.

Specific federal requirements

The Privy Council Office’s initial assessment is that the present scope of the Act includes requirements under the following federal legislation and regulations:

• Canadian Environmental Protection Act Division 8 and associated regulations
• Energy Efficiency Act
• Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations
• Motor Carrier Safety Fitness Regulations
• Safe Food for Canadians Act and its regulations
• Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act and its regulations
• Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act

The above list of Acts and regulations is not an exhaustive list, but is intended to illustrate the types of requirements that fall within its current scope.

Labour mobility

The new legislation also provides a framework to recognize provincial and territorial licenses and certifications for workers. This means that a worker authorized by provincial or territorial jurisdiction can more quickly and easily work in the same occupation within federal jurisdiction.

A federally regulated occupation falls within scope of the Act when where there is both a federal and provincial/territorial authorization for the same occupation.

Questions to guide input from interested parties

Feedback is welcome either on the specific aspects listed below, or general aspects of the legislation and its implementation.

To help guide feedback, below is an outline of both aspects of the regulations, as well as some aspects to consider.

1. Exceptions to the Act

For requirements that fall within the scope of the Act, the Government of Canada may consider excluding them from its application only if they:

• Present a significant risk to the health, safety, or security of Canadians or the environment; or
• Impede the Government of Canada’s ability to advance other key priorities, such as ensuring access to international markets.

Some stakeholders have raised concerns that recognizing provincial or territorial requirements in certain areas (e.g., food safety, energy efficiency) could compromise one of these Government of Canada objectives. Others have raised concerns that an exception would detract from economic benefits to their sector.

Aspects to consider:

• Area or sector of impact: In what area or sector would the Act have an impact once in force? How would it impact you or your business?
• Benefits and costs: Would the Act create economic benefits or costs?
• Risks: Would the Act have an undue risk to the health, safety, or security of Canadians or the environment or another Government of Canada key priority? If yes, would you support an exception?
• Risk mitigation measures: How could the impact be mitigated without an exception. Are there available mechanisms to help manage the impact?
• Areas or sectors where an exception is not support: What costs would such an exception impose?

2. Criteria for “Comparable” requirements

The Act only applies to federal requirements that pertain to the interprovincial trade of goods and services when there are comparable provincial or territorial requirements. In this case, “comparable” means that a provincial or territorial regulation/standard addresses the same aspect of a good or service and is intended to achieve a similar objective.

The Privy Council Office is considering additional regulatory criteria to determine whether a federal requirement can be considered “comparable” to a provincial or territorial requirement, as a basis for mutual recognition.

Aspects to consider:

• What criteria should be used to assess comparability? (e.g., outcome-based, level of public protection, enforcement mechanisms)
• What challenges or opportunities would such criteria create for stakeholders?

How to provide input

Interested parties are invited to submit written comments by August 22, 2025 to:

• Intergovernmental Affairs – Internal Trade
  Privy Council Office
  85 Sparks Street, Room 1000
  Ottawa, Ontario
  K1A 0A3
  internaltrade-commerceinterieur@pco-bcp.gc.ca

Please provide a rationale and/or evidence for your input, wherever possible. All feedback received will be considered in the development of the regulations.