For most of us, the borders between Canadian provinces and territories are little more than lines on a map. But for some workers and businesses, those lines represent real barriers.
That’s why, in April 2006, Alberta and British Columbia signed the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement, or TILMA. During this Spring Session of the Alberta Legislature, the Government of Alberta introduced legislation ensuring our province will be TILMA ready when the agreement comes fully into force by April 2009.
The TILMA is a groundbreaking interprovincial agreement. When fully implemented, it will provide seamless access for businesses and workers in both provinces to a wider range of opportunities across all sectors of the economy.
In simple terms, the TILMA gets rid of needless red tape between the two provinces. Businesses will no longer have to register twice to operate in both jurisdictions. Commercial vehicles will no longer have to face a host of unnecessary regulations. And, highly trained professionals like teachers and architects, along with skilled trades people, will no longer have to interrupt their careers to be retrained and recertified to work in the other province.
The TILMA does not, as some would have you believe, threaten the ability of local governments to make laws. It does not allow companies to sue a municipality if a law in one province is not exactly the same as that in the other. These are the same kinds of scare tactics that were brought forward under the North American Free Trade Agreement and have ultimately proven to be false.
The TILMA applies to laws that affect trade, investment and labour mobility. It does not affect environmental legislation, social programs, Aboriginal programs, water and labour standards and health and safety.
The Government of Alberta has consulted extensively with those who will be most affected by the TILMA - municipalities, school jurisdictions, health authorities, academic institutions, financial institutions, occupational groups and professional regulators. We are listening to our stakeholders and working with them to implement the TILMA.
The TILMA signals a new era in interprovincial relations within Canada and makes it easier for all of us to work or do business within our own country. For more information on the TILMA, visit www.tilma.ca.
If you have any questions or comments regarding this or any other issue, please call my Constituency Office at 782-7725 or toll free at 1-800-565-6432, by mail 101, 4892 - 46 Street, Lacombe, AB T4L 2B4 or by e-mail lacombe.ponoka@assembly.ab.ca.