Manitoba is removing barriers to labour mobility as part of a strengthened chapter under the national Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) which came into effect April 1, 2009.
Competitiveness, Training and Trade Minister Andrew Swan said Manitoba is fully honouring its obligations for full labour mobility for regulated occupations under the AIT. The labour mobility agreement was reached in 2008 by Canada’s premiers, with Manitoba and New Brunswick leading the negotiations.
“Manitoba has been a leader in supporting improvements to reduce barriers to internal trade and ensuring labour mobility for Canadians,” said Swan. “We have made the amendments to strengthen the Agreement on Internal Trade a priority for Canada. Manitoba fully supports the strengthened provisions as a means to ensure that Canadians can work anywhere in Canada without restrictions on labour mobility.”
Under the chapter, a person certified as qualified to practise an occupation in any Canadian jurisdiction will be recognized and able to practise their occupation in any other Canadian jurisdiction unless a province requires a specific exception from this rule in order to ensure achievement of a legitimate objective such as protecting health and safety. Each province will continue to be responsible for maintaining and monitoring the requirements that are in place through provincial legislation for regulated occupations.
Manitoba’s efforts to ensure full labour mobility within Canada will provide qualified workers with greater access to employment opportunities and more transparent registration and licensure requirements in Manitoba’s evolving labour market, the minister added. He commended Manitoba’s regulators for their extraordinary efforts to ensure compliance with this national agreement by today.
“Improved labour mobility within Canada will create a more stable, attractive climate for business investment. Addressing issues related to skills shortages in many regions of the country will create more opportunities to fill gaps in the labour force, placing Canada in a positive position to enhance our competitiveness in an expanding global economy.”
The text of the strengthened Chapter 7 on labour mobility under the AIT is available on Manitoba’s Competitiveness, Training and Trade web site at www.gov.mb.ca/ctt/pdfs/lab_mob.pdf.
