Annual Report April 1996 – March 1997

Highlights of the year in review

During 1996/97, the first full year of operation for the Agreement on Internal Trade, the Parties to the agreement focussed their activities on continuing the negotiations mandated by the AIT which had not been completed prior to its signing and on establishing the rules and procedures necessary to ensure the effective functioning of the AIT.

In 1996/97, the Parties demonstrated a continued commitment to the AIT by fully engaging in negotiations to conclude the outstanding obligations of the Agreement and by initiating discussions aimed at reviewing exceptions and reservations in the areas covered by the Agreement.

In terms of the specific negotiations on outstanding issues, the highlights for this year were:

• advancing the negotiations of the procurement provisions that would apply to the MASH sector;
• advancing the negotiations to reduce the number of government entities excluded from the procurement rules; and,
• advancing negotiations toward an Energy Chapter.

To ensure the effective functioning of the AIT, the Parties engaged in the following activities during 1996/97:

• signing an environmental harmonization accord that provides a framework for promoting cooperation between the Parties on environmental management;
• developing a common electronic tendering system;
• initiating the development of a electronic system to facilitate the reconciliation of extra-provincial corporate registration and reporting requirements among the Parties;
• providing guidelines to over 400 regulatory bodies regarding their obligations under the Labour Mobility Chapter;
• preparing a template for harmonized cost of credit legislation; and,
• initiating a consultation process with stakeholders to pursue greater national compatibility of transport trucks weight and dimension standards.

With increased awareness of the AIT among both government departments and the private sector, 1996/97 also saw the initiation of a number of disputes using the dispute settlement mechanisms provided for under the Agreement. The dispute resolution provisions of the AIT were fully engaged during this reporting year with 12 complaints