The Province announced today that it is removing barriers to labour mobility as part of a strengthened chapter under the national Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) which comes into effect today.
The Province has said it is fully honouring its obligations for full labour mobility for regulated occupations under the AIT. "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,” said Competitiveness, Training and Trade Minister Andrew Swan.
The labour mobility agreement was reached in 2008 by Canada's premiers, with Manitoba and New Brunswick leading the negotiations. Under the chapter, a person certified as qualified to practice an occupation in any Canadian jurisdiction will be recognized and able to practice their occupation in any other Canadian jurisdiction, unless a province requires a specific exception from this rule in order to achieve 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.
The Province claims these efforts will ensure full labour mobility within Canada and provide qualified workers with greater access to employment opportunities and more transparent registration and licensure requirements.
The full text for Chapter 7 on labour mobility under the AIT is available at www.gov.mb.ca/ctt/pdfs/lab_mob.pdf.