Annual Report – April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021

2020/2021 Highlights

Internal Trade Ministers met once during 2020/2021 as part of ensuring the continued implementation of the CFTA. On September 16, 2020, Ministers were provided with updates regarding the trade in alcoholic beverages (including work on a Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) sales model), financial services, cannabis for non-medical purposes, Party-specific exceptions, labour mobility, electricity transmission, and the work of the Regulatory Reconciliation and Cooperation Table (RCT).
Of particular interest are the following two achievements under the CFTA:

• The first was the release of the RCT’s 2020-2021 Work Plan on September 17, 2020. The new Work Plan has 33 items, including four new items that were added (Personal Protective Equipment, Canadian Electrical Codes, Energy Using and Energy Saving Equipment, and Licensing/Certification of Building Officials or Inspectors).
• The second is specific rules on electricity transmission, which entered into force on September 23, 2020. These rules consist of obligations that require open and nondiscriminatory provision of electricity transmission service, and the use of a dispute resolution mechanism that includes electricity experts in any dispute panel.

CIT Ministers recommitted to continue addressing internal trade barriers across Canada and making improvements to the CFTA in order to better facilitate trade across provincial and territorial boundaries. CIT Ministers also noted that the importance of internal trade in Canada has only been heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic.