B.C. LEADS PROVINCES TO AGREEMENT ON AGRI-FOOD TRADE

VICTORIA – Recent efforts to find consensus on internal trade reform have resulted in a wide-ranging agreement to enhance interprovincial agriculture and food trade, Agriculture and Lands Minister Pat Bell announced today.

Agriculture and agri-food ministers from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and the Yukon have signed an agreement on internal trade in agriculture and food goods. The agreement expands the scope of the Agriculture and Food Goods Chapter of the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) to encompass all technical measures affecting interprovincial agriculture and food trade between the signatories.

Until now, these measures, which include health, safety, quality and labelling regulations, have restricted trade within Canada because of the many jurisdictions involved.

“That the review and revision of the AIT Agriculture and Food Chapter remained outstanding for so long was simply not acceptable to the agriculture and food sector across Canada,” said Bell. “It was supposed to have been done in 1997. Our Premiers and Prime Ministers asked that it be done by 2005. Last week, ministers responsible for internal trade across Canada asked that ministers of agriculture at least agree on an action plan by December 2006.

“In the absence of any evidence that progress was being made, British Columbia pushed for a new approach among the provincial and federal governments to create flexibility to move forward. The fact that six jurisdictions have now signed this agreement reflects their commitment to improve trade. I hope the federal government and other provinces and territories will also sign on soon.”

Under the agreement, technical measures must not create obstacles to internal trade or discriminate against products from or between other jurisdictions, other than to achieve legitimate objectives such as health and safety or environmental protection. The agreement also reinforces a commitment to address inter-jurisdictional differences, duplication and overlap respecting all technical measures.

“The agriculture sector is changing and this agreement represents an opportunity to help producers by reducing barriers and red tape that can be a significant challenge,” said Bell. “Now when producers ship an agriculture or food product – whether that’s fruit, dairy, meat or whatever else – to one of these other provinces or territories, they do so knowing that there is a commitment and an obligation for those false barriers to be removed.”

The agreement is immediately effective on signing and is open to signature at any time by other federal, provincial or territorial agriculture ministers. The Agreement on Internal Trade itself can be amended if all agriculture ministers sign the agreement.

The “Interim Agreement on Internal Trade in Agriculture and Food Goods” can be found on the Internal Trade Secretariat website at www.ait-aci.ca/index_en/progress.htm under “Trade Enhancement Arrangements.”

-30-


Media contact:	Liz Bicknell Communications Director Ministry of Agriculture and Lands 250 356-2862 250 213-3072 (cell)

For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca.