Chapter Two – General Rules

Article 200: Application

1. Except as provided in this Agreement, this Chapter applies to any measure of a Party relating to trade, investment, and labour mobility within Canada.
2. This Chapter does not apply to procurement by a Party of a good or service purchased for governmental purposes, and not with a view to commercial sale or resale or for use in the production or supply of a good or service for commercial sale or resale, whether or not that procurement is a covered procurement within the meaning of Article 504 (Scope and Coverage).

Article 201: Non-Discrimination

1. Each Party shall accord to goods of any other Party treatment no less favourable than the best treatment it accords to its own like, directly competitive or substitutable goods and to those of any other Party or non-Party.
2. Each Party shall accord to workers, services, service suppliers, investors, and investments of any other Party treatment no less favourable than the best treatment it accords, in like circumstances, to its own workers, services, service suppliers, investors, and investments and to those of any other Party or non-Party.
3. With respect to the Government of Canada, paragraphs 1 and 2 mean that it shall accord to:
   1. goods of a Province treatment no less favourable than the best treatment it accords to like, directly competitive or substitutable goods of any other Province or non-Party; and
   2. workers, services, service suppliers, investors, and investments of a Province treatment no less favourable than the best treatment it accords, in like circumstances, to workers, services, service suppliers, investors, and investments of any other Province or non-Party.
4. With respect to the Government of Canada, there must be a geographical component to the less favourable treatment to be inconsistent with paragraphs 1, 2, or 3. A geographical component to the less favourable treatment means that the Government of Canada favours on either a de jure or de facto basis the goods, workers, services, service suppliers, investors, or investments of a Province over those of any other Province or non-Party.
5. According identical treatment may not necessarily result in compliance with paragraphs 1, 2, 3, or 4.
6. Each Party shall ensure that any licensing, registration, certification, or other commercial charges it applies to:
   1. goods of any other Party are no less favourable than the charges it applies to its own like, directly competitive or substitutable goods and charges it applies to those goods from any other Party or non-Party, except to the extent that the difference in charges can be justified by actual cost; or
   2. workers, services, service suppliers, investors, or investments of any other Party are no less favourable than the charges it applies to its own workers, services, service suppliers, investors, or investments and charges it applies to workers, services, service suppliers, investors, or investments from any other Party or non-Party, in like circumstances, except to the extent that the difference in charges can be justified by actual cost.
7. For greater certainty, for the purposes of paragraph 6, “commercial charge” does not include a tax or royalty.

Article 202: Legitimate Objectives

1. This Article does not apply to Article 302 (Technical Barriers to Trade), Article 303 (Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures), Article 320 (Prohibited Incentives), Article 402 (Regulatory Notification), and Article 403 (Reconciliation of Regulatory Measures), or to Chapter Six (Environmental Protection) and Chapter Seven (Labour Mobility).
2. A Party may establish the level of protection it considers appropriate to achieve a legitimate objective.
3. If it is established that a measure is inconsistent with this Agreement, that measure is permissible provided that:
   1. the purpose of the measure is to achieve a legitimate objective;
   2. the measure is necessary to achieve that legitimate objective;
   3. the measure is not applied in a manner that would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination between Parties where the same conditions prevail; and
   4. the measure is not applied in a manner that would constitute a disguised restriction on trade.
4. For the purposes of paragraph 3(b), a measure shall be considered necessary to achieve a legitimate objective provided that:
   1. the measure makes a contribution to the achievement of the legitimate objective; and
   2. there are no reasonably available alternatives that would make an equivalent contribution to the achievement of the legitimate objective in a less trade-restrictive manner.

Article 203: Transparency

1. Each Party shall ensure that its measures respecting matters covered by this Agreement are made readily accessible.
2. Each Party shall maintain an enquiry point, identified on this Agreement’s website, able to answer reasonable enquiries and to provide information relating to its measures and to other matters covered by this Agreement.
3. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to require a Party to disclose information that:
   1. would impede law enforcement;
   2. would involve a waiver of privilege;
   3. would prejudice the legitimate commercial interests of third persons; or
   4. would be exempt from disclosure under, or its disclosure would contravene, applicable law.